Thomas and Friends: Troublesome Engines
by Chase The Ferroequinologist
Summary: Presenting this "The Adventure Begins"-styled adaptation of James the Red Engine, Tank Engine Thomas Again, and Troublesome Engines! Learn about how Percy came to the island of Sodor, how James proved himself to be a really useful engine, and how Thomas is getting on on his branch line.
1. Chapter 1 - The Beginning

"Percy…Percy…PERCY, WAKE UP OLD BOY!"

"Whuh…whuh?"

The little black tank engine opened his eyes. His driver and fireman were standing in front of him.

"Come on, Percy, we have to deliver parts to the other engines today!"

Percy groaned, but felt a little better as his fireman lit his fire.

"Alright, here I go…" and he emerged from his small shed outside the workshops.

The little tank engine, called Percy, had four small wheels, a large saddletank that covered his boiler, and was painted completely black. Percy was a pilot engine at some railway works, where all the railways in Britain sent their engines to be fixed when they broke down, or they needed an overhaul, and sometimes even a rebuild. Percy's job was to ferry the engines around the works whenever they needed to be moved, or to deliver parts to certain parts of the workshops. Although many engines came and went in the works, none of them ever stayed, as they all went back to their old railways. Percy was the only engine owned by the workshops, the other being an engine built at the works that had yet to find a buyer. His name was Clyde. Percy was passing him when he heard him call out.

"Bring these parts here, Percy," said Clyde. Clyde was much bigger than Percy, being designed as an express passenger engine. He had four small leading wheels, and six large driving wheels that made Percy's look very small, as well as a tender. He was painted a dark green, with black stripes. Clyde had been in the works for a long time, but Percy didn't like Clyde very much. Clyde loved pushing Percy around, and telling him what to do.

"My wheels are aching, have your crew give me an oil right now!" Percy tried to keep going, but his crew brought him to a stop.

"Why did we stop? He's just trying to make me do his bidding," grumbled Percy.

"It's policy, Percy," his driver sighed. They stepped down from Percy's footplate and went to inspect Clyde.

"Botheration, now I'll be late!" Percy sat impatiently waiting for his crew to return, when the other engines around the workshop spoke up.

"My filler cap feels loose, can you check it over?"

"My boiler feels leaky!"

"My cylinders are cracked!"

"Just a checkup, Percy!"

"It's your job, Percy!"

Percy groaned. Clyde told the other engines that Percy would do anything if they asked. As a result of this, Percy frequently got harassed to run menial errands for the other engines.

"Oh shut up. You know that I'm busy!"

"MY FIREBOX IS ON FIRE!"

"Oh, that one was just being smart!"

The other engines laughed as Percy's crew returned. They returned their oil can to the trucks. Before the other engines could make their requests, Percy sped off to try and get his trucks to where they needed to go.

"Don't worry, Perce, you'll be useful someday!" Clyde sneered as Percy puffed out of his range of vision.

Percy sighed.

"I don't like how they push me around. I'm just as useful as the rest of them! At least I'm actually working! You'd think they'd show me some respect!"

His driver chuckled, and began braking Percy to a stop as they approached the end of the siding.

"Percy, everyone has their day. You just haven't had yours yet! Just be patient and keep working hard and you'll get the respect you deserve!"

Percy rolled his eyes; it was nowhere near as easy to do that as his driver thought.

* * *

"…absolutely unbelievable! We need someone to shunt our coaches! Tender engines don't shunt! I don't know _when_ the Fat Controller will get it through his head, but I personally think, no I know, that we need an engine to shunt this yard!"

As he complained to no one in particular, Gordon backed down onto his express coaches, which were sitting in the carriage shed. He missed Thomas. Not because he was particularly fond of the little engine, but because without him he had to shunt his own coaches. In fact, all the big engines had to. They all hated it. The sidings at the big station were difficult to navigate, and backing up could be a pain.

"I pull the express! It's an absolute _crime_ that I have been reduced to shunting trucks like a measly tank engine! I swear, I will do anything possible to get the Fat Controller to see what we need. A protest, a rally, a…"

"Stow it, Gordon, and just try to be really useful, no matter what your job is." His driver coupled Gordon up to his coaches, and they started off for the big station platform. His driver noticed a satisfied smirk on Gordon's face.

"You up to something, Gordon?"

"No, no, not at all, driver," denied Gordon, "simply I've thought of a way to make the best of our problem!"  
"Oh, good." As Gordon rolled up to the platform, his passengers climbed on the train.

"Yes," he grinned, "I'll tell them tonight…"

And with that, the guard's whistle blew and Gordon rolled out of the station, in a cloud of steam.

(NOTE: Play the first chorus and verse, and the last chorus of "It's Great to be an Engine" here for desired effect)

As Gordon left, James pulled up to the platform.

"Get in, quickly please!"

James' passengers climbed on board and he tried to start off, but steam hissed everywhere, making the inside of the station very wet. This caused quite a commotion, and the Fat Controller left his office to see what the commotion was.

"GAH," cried James, and he took off like a rocket, leaving the Fat Controller very confused.

"Engines…" he muttered, before waving the moist air away from him and returning to his office.

Edward was sitting at the platform, waiting for the men to finish loading his trucks, when he saw a train with no engine nearby.

"I wonder what that could be?" A familiar whistle soon confirmed Edward's suspicions however, and clanking echoed throughout the station as the large green engine pulled into the station.

"Sorry, I'm late!" Henry panted to the passengers, "I had some…steaming problems."

Henry was coupled up to the train and tried to start off, and slowly but surely he was out of the station. Edward looked on in a worried manner.

"Oh dear, poor Henry."

Henry struggled along the line, with the coaches clanking behind him. He tried to keep up good steam, but his small firebox prevented him from getting enough steam up, and he began to slip on the hill.

"Oh no!" Henry tried to keep up speed, but he couldn't and slid back down to the bottom of the hill.

No matter what Henry or his crew tried, they were stuck, and were forced to reverse back to Wellsworth. Edward was there, having made his delivery.

"Oh dear, Henry, are you alright?"

"No, Edward. I can't get enough steam to get up the hill! It's my blasted firebox again."

"Don't get too down, Henry. Tell you what, I'll take your train on from here and you can rest in my sheds!"

"B-b-b-b-but…"

"We don't really have another option," remarked Henry's driver, "it's very unlikely we'll get enough steam up for that hill any time soon."

"Oh…very well, Edward."

Henry limped onto a siding while Edward coupled onto the train.

"Don't worry, Henry! Have a nice nap and you'll feel much better!"

"Thank you, Edward," said Henry, trying to smile. As Edward left the station, Henry sat in the sheds, feeling miserable.

"I suffer dreadfully, and no one cares…"

THOMAS AND FRIENDS: TROUBLESOME ENGINES!

* * *

Well, well, well. I decided to write this _Adventure Begins_ -style adaptation of "James the Red Engine", "Tank Engine Thomas Again", and "Troublesome Engines" because I loved the original so much. And seeing as I've yet to see a good sequel story, I've decided to write one. If and when another one comes out, I'm still going to use this, and I am going to update as I write. I have the entire thing planned out. Now let's discuss the key differences first:

\- **Order of Events:** This story has the events of the third, fourth, and fifth Railway Series books taking place alongside one another. I'm doing this because it allows for a more coherent narrative, as well as not just feeling I stringed the entire thing together just using the books. Only two stories have happened prior to this, and we see them in flashback.

\- **Percy's livery and workshop days -** Changed it to make more sense for his character and later developments in the story. Clyde is part of these differences as well.

\- **Original characters -** This would be a note, except Clyde is the only one. So yeah, the only characters appearing in this are Thomas, Edward, Henry, Gordon, James, Percy, Terence, Bertie, and Sir Topham Hatt. So I'll be sticking to canon in that regard.

So I can't wait to write more, and hope you all enjoy "TROUBLESOME ENGINES", a new _Thomas and Friends_ special!


	2. Chapter 2 - Of Top Hats and Bootlaces

Henry limped sadly home to Tidmouth Sheds to rest before his evening mail train. As Henry was a shy steamer, it took quite a while for him to return to the sheds. He backed uneasily into the sheds, where Gordon and James were already waiting.

"Stay a while, Henry!" Gordon chuckled, but Henry wasn't focused on Gordon. "Sorry, Gordon, I have to keep my fire up for my mail train tonight."

Gordon rolled his eyes. He was used to Henry's worriedness. But tonight wasn't about Henry.

"Henry, we have to talk. James and I have been recently discussing the issue of the shunting we've had to do, in light of Thomas'…absence."

"Yeah," interrupted James, "since the tank engine went off to run his branch, we've been stuck going around the sidings getting our stupid trucks and coaches."

"Quiet, James," scolded Gordon sharply, "As I was saying, the Fat Controller has relegated us to shunting when we should have our trucks and coaches waiting at the platform for us!"

"The Fat Controller has said that he's trying to find another tank engine, so I don't see why any "action" is necessary." Henry's driver began shoveling more coal to keep Henry's fire burning.

"But Henry, when did the Fat Controller say he was going to get another tank engine to help us…?" Gordon smirked at the big green engine, who thought for a while before speaking.

"Well it has been a while, but.."

"Exactly. Who's to say that the Fat Controller wasn't just lying to us? We have to show him that we, as the cornerstone of the North Western Railway, need another engine to shunt our coaches for us. And this is where I propose something that will force the Fat Controller to listen to us." He paused impressively.

"Gentlemen, I propose that we stage…a strike."

"A strike?" Henry raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, Henry, a strike means that we don't do any work until the Fat Controller listens to us."

"I know what a strike is, Gordon. I just don't see how it's a good idea. If we aren't being useful, the Fat Controller can just send us away like '62 and '46!" Henry scoffed, "And another thing, can't our drivers just force us out?"

Gordon chuckled, before whispering so Henry's busy crew wouldn't hear.

"We don't have to move if we don't want to." Gordon smirked and Henry rolled his eyes.

"Gordon, this is insane. You can strike if you want to, but I'd rather be a really useful engine while I can. Now, if you excuse me, I have a mail train to pull." And Henry puffed away in a cloud of steam, leaving Gordon and James alone once more.

"Guess it's just us, eh Gordon?" James smiled awkwardly to try and break the ice, but Gordon's smirk sustained.

"He'll come around. I know Henry and he's on the end of his rope. Something will push him over the edge soon, and then he'll come running back to us." James was rather unsure, but Gordon was certain. Suddenly, Gordon's crew arrived.

"Come on, Gordon. We have an express to pull tonight." Gordon's driver and fireman stepped up and began to tend to his fire.

"I guess this is it for the evening. Farewell, James, I have an express to pull. Something our dear Henry could never be capable of." Gordon steamed away, leaving James by his lonesome. As Gordon disappeared, it began to rain, leaving puddles on the ground.

"What am I doing?" James said to himself, looking at his reflection in the puddle nearby his berth. He then began to remember what caused him to be part of the strike in the first place, that faithful week some time ago…

* * *

The Fat Controller had called James to Knapford Station to speak to him after he had returned from the works.

"You've been working very hard since I got you your new brakes, James. You are a mixed-traffic engine. As a result, your new duties will give more trains than ever, both trucks and coaches. I know you're eager to get back to work, but I want you to have a run to get used to your new brakes. So, I'm having Edward pull a train with you in order to allow you to get your bearings."

"Yes, sir!" James said excitedly. He headed over to the tower where Edward was taking on water

"Now, James," said Edward calmly, "I know you're excited, but we have to provide a reliable, smooth service. That means no bumping around!"  
James scoffed. "I know, Edward. I wasn't built yesterday."

"I'm well aware of that James, but…"

"Come on, Edward, I have to show the passengers my new shiny red paintwork!" James puffed away to the platform, leaving Edward alone.

"I hope he doesn't get himself into trouble." Edward sighed and headed off for the station building as well.

James had already fetched the coaches and they were waiting at the platform. James simmered excitedly as the passengers marveled at his paintwork. The Fat Controller had exited his office and was attempting to shoo the passengers into their coaches.

"As nice as James' paintwork looks, this is a station, not an art gallery. Please board the train, or you'll be late!" The Fat Controller tripped on a woman's bag, and fell to the ground.

"Apologies, ma'am…get in _quickly_ please!" The Fat Controller picked up his top hat and began to dust it off.

"Ah, my new top hat…nothing could ever ruin you!" He happily began adjusting it. However, the passengers that hadn't been shooed in the train were complimenting James' paintwork, and the red engine was feeling very proud.

"What a splendid red engine, must be the pride of the whole railway!"

"Why, thank you!" James was feeling very full of himself. So full of himself, that he felt the need to let off steam. He did so. Steam clouded the station, causing the air to become very wet. Passenger panicked aboard their coaches, station staff hid under canopies, and almost everyone was covered. Everyone except the Fat Controller, that is.

"My…my hat!" He started at his soaked top hat in his hands. James saw this and realized what he had done.

"Oh no!" And almost before the guard had blown his whistle, James started off.

"Whoa, James!" Edward was surprised by James' sudden start, but decided to keep going.

"James! James, get back here! JAMES!" The Fat Controller's cries were drowned out by a whistle.

"Did the Fat Controller just say something? I thought I heard him say something," said Edward.

"No. No, he didn't. Keep going!" James began to go faster, causing Edward to increase in speed as well. Edward was confused, but deduced that James was simply trying to keep to time.

James and Edward were making splendid time as they thundered along the line. James, however, was still nervous about the Fat Controller. He was so nervous, that as they approached Maron Station, James began to go much too fast.

"Slow down, James!" cried Edward, but James was too busy thinking about the Fat Controller's top hat.

"Brake, James! Brake!" Edward screeched on his brakes, taking James away from his thoughts.

"What? Whoa!" James braked hard as well as the train screeched through the station and came to an abrupt stop.

"James, pay attention! The passengers could have been hurt!" Edward was very cross, and James was embarrassed.

"Sorry, Edward," said James quietly.

"And now we have to back up, too. We're beyond the platform!" James looked back and realized that Edward was right; the last coach was beyond the platform, and the passengers were cross.

James backed up sheepishly to the platform, as the passengers got on and off. They weren't singing his praises now. James groaned. He hoped the Fat Controller wouldn't find out.

The rest of the journey was relatively smooth. But that didn't stop the Fat Controller from speaking to James that night, complete with a bowler hat that just didn't look right on his head to replace his soaked top hat.

"James, I give you new brakes and new paint, and what do you do? You give the passengers a rough time, and you spoil my brand new top hat! If you have more mishaps like this, I shall have you painted blue!"

"Yes, sir." And as the Fat Controller slept, an upset James went to sleep.

The following morning, James was cross. As punishment for his mishaps, the Fat Controller had made him shunt coaches for the other engines when he wasn't working. He hated it, and because of this he was rough with the coaches.

"OW! OW! Stop it James!" But James wasn't paying attention to the coaches, he was mostly grumbling to himself.

"I'm just as useful as Gordon, or Edward, and certainly more than Henry! Why do I have to shunt stupid trucks in the yards!" He banged the coaches hard. They groaned, but James went off on his way to fetch some water before his afternoon train.

"We'll pay him out," said one.

"He'll be sure never to bump us…" chuckled another, and the coaches began conspiring to make a plan.

James returned to the platform and banged the coaches hard. He waited impatiently for his passengers to board.

"Easy, boy!" James' driver was attempting to soothe the irate red engine; "You're not due on this train for another few hours!"

"I know," grumbled James. He was anxious to leave so the other engines couldn't tease him for his platform incident.

At last, the guard's whistle blew and James was off. He thundered down the line with his heavy coaches, they bashed and bumped against him.

"Stupid things," he snorted, and bumped them back. James was giving the passengers quite a bumpy ride, but he didn't care. All he wanted to do was get the train to its destination. Suddenly, however, he began to slow down. The coaches laughed.

"What's happening? What did you do?" James shrieked in fury as he crawled to a stop.

"More like what did _you_ do, James." His driver stepped down and inspected the coaches. He called to the fireman.

"A brake pipe in one of the coaches has sprung a leak, most likely from James banging them around like a paddleball. That'll teach you not to be rough with the coaches, you great silly engine." The fireman got down and took a look as well, as did the guard.

"What do you think we should do?" The fireman asked the driver.

"I have an idea, but we'll need a newspaper and a leather bootlace."

"How are we ever to get a leather bootlace?" The driver turned to the guard.

In no time at all, every passenger on the train was gathered in the field beside the line. The driver stepped on a box and addressed the crowd of people.

"We've stopped the train because of an issue. There is a hole in the brake pipe of one of the coaches. We have a way to fix it, but we need one of you to supply a leather bootlace. If you have one, please speak up now, or we'll be stuck here until another engine comes."

The crowd talked amongst themselves. No one was quite sure who had a leather bootlace. However, there was one man towards the front of the group who was trying to hide his shoes underneath his trenchcoat. The guard noticed this.

"Excuse me, sir. May we please see your shoes?" The man turned away.

"No." As he backed up however, he tripped over another passenger and fell, showing that he was wearing boots with leather bootlaces.

"Sir, we need your bootlaces or we'll all be stuck here!"

"But my shoes are brand new! Giving you the laces will ruin them!" The crowd took notice of their argument and began to call out.

"Come on, Jobling, give him the laces!"

"Yeah, or we'll all be stuck here, Jeremiah!"

Jeremiah Jobling grunted, and after a short argument, he relinquished his laces and he and the other passengers returned to the coaches. James' driver tied the newspaper around the hole using the bootlace, and slowly but surely James started back for home.

James arrived to the station only a few minutes late, but that didn't stop the passengers from throwing him, and Jeremiah Jobling for the matter, dirty looks. The Fat Controller was not happy when he heard the news.

"James, you're lucky I'm putting this incident down to a fault with the coaches, but this is your last chance." And with that he left. The other engines, however, found it very funny. For a long while, they would talk of nothing but bootlaces, much to James' chagrin.

* * *

James awoke the following morning to find his driver stoking him up.

"Come on, James. We have to shunt our trucks today!"

As James shunted his trucks into to place, he heard their chatter.

"Hey, James, you want some bootlaces?"

"Heard you might need some bootlaces!"

"Bootlaces!"

"Bootlaces!"

"Bootlaces!"

James bumped the trucks hard to shut them up, but the damage was done. James was furious.

"I'll show them. I'll show them all…" he muttered darkly, before puffing away.

* * *

So, here we are! The second chapter is up! Certainly more beefy than the first, almost double the length as a matter of fact. So now we know James' motives for participating in the strike, the conception of said strike, and Henry not initially wanting to partake in it. Yes, and don't worry, in the next chapter we will see Thomas! So, next chapter, prepare for Chapter 3: _Neglected._


	3. Chapter 3 - Neglected

Thomas the Tank Engine loved his new life on his branch line. The people loved taking their trains with him, and considered Annie and Clarabel to very comfortable coaches.

"Come on, Thomas, it's not like your in a race," called Annie, as she and Clarabel rattled along behind Thomas as he rushed to get to Elsbridge Station.

"I know, but I don't want to be late! Henry will never let me hear the end of it!" Thomas began to go faster.

"Easy does it, Thomas! He's trying to catch you, not the other way around!" Clarabel shouted, but Thomas sped along his branch line regardless.

Thomas passed farms, and a river, as well as a watermill. Despite his haste, he did enjoy admiring the beautiful scenery the line had to offer. But he still wanted to get to the station on time.

"Oh, come along, we're rather late! Oh, come along we're rather late!"

"No we aren't, No we aren't," chorused the two coaches but there was no slowing Thomas down.

Finally, Thomas rushed into Elsbridge and braked to a stop.

"Here I am!" Thomas sat impatiently waiting for something to happen. But nothing did.

"Where's Henry?" Annie asked.

"Late again," sighed Clarabel, "must be problems with that firebox of his."

"How can I run my line properly if Henry is always late? He doesn't realize that the Fat Controller depends on me!" Thomas grumbled.

"Now, now, Thomas. You know Henry does the best he can. He can't help it!" Annie scolded.

"I know, but I wish he wouldn't hold me up when I have a branch line to run…" Suddenly, the three heard a hissing and a clanking.

"Here he comes!" Clarabel called, and soon enough Henry came coughing down the line. With great effort, Henry finally managed to make it to the platform.

"Oh dear, are you alright Henry?" Annie asked. Henry simply looked miserable.

"No, Annie. My system is out of order. I feel awful. It's the new coal, my firebox just won't burn it. You don't know what I suffer!" Henry coughed. Annie and Clarabel felt sympathetic, but Thomas was too impatient to listen to Henry complain.

"Rubbish," said Thomas, "You're too fat! You need exercise!" Henry was deeply offended.

"Excuse me for trying to get some sympathy, Thomas!" Henry's guard's whistle blew, and Henry puffed away, mumbling to himself.

"No one understands my case…I suffer _dreadfully,_ and no one cares…"

Annie and Clarabel were aghast at Thomas' rudeness.

"Thomas," scolded Annie, "that was very rude! Henry is trying his best and you know it!"

"Well, I'm sorry, Annie, but I'm far too busy to listen to him complain about his 'system', I have a branch line to run!"

The guard's whistle blew, and Thomas started off…too quickly. As Thomas and Annie bickered about Henry, Clarabel noticed that they had left someone on the platform.

"Thomas! Thomas! We've left our guard behind!" Clarabel wailed, but Thomas and Annie's arguing drowned her out.

"Wait! Come back!" The guard cried, frantically waving his red flag, but the train was out of sight before the guard could reach the end of the platform.

Thomas puffed along his branch line, still arguing with Annie about Henry.

"He was making me late! This branch line is a very important part of the Fat Controller's Railway!"

"And that was no cause to be rude! He's not in the best health!"

"THOMAS! WE'VE LEFT OUR GUARD BEHIND!" Clarabel shouted, finally managing to overpower Annie and Thomas's argument.

"Wait, what!?" Thomas applied his brakes and skidded to a stop at a signal. It was set to "danger".

"What's wrong?" Thomas asked his driver.

"I don't know, the guard will tell us in a minute." He said.

"But we HAVEN'T a guard," Clarabel sobbed, "We've left him behind!"

Suddenly, they heard footsteps. There was the guard, sprinting down the line as fast as he could with his flags in one hand and his whistle in the other.

"Bless me, are you alright?" Thomas' driver asked.

"Too hot…need water," panted the guard, and Thomas' fireman quickly fetched the bottle from the cab. Thomas felt very embarrassed.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to leave you behind, Mr. Guard." Thomas looked down.

"That's alright, Thomas, it wasn't your fault." The guard smiled, "Look, the signal's down."

"He's right, Thomas," said the driver, "let's make up for lost time."

Thomas, feeling very embarrassed, puffed off to Ffarquhar.

On the way down the line, Thomas felt extremely guilty.

"Annie, I'm sorry for being rude. I just wanted to make sure I was being really useful…"

"That's alright, Thomas, but you should be apologizing to Henry, not me." Annie smiled, and Thomas gained a determined expression.

"You're right," he said, "Next time I see Henry, I'll tell him I'm sorry."

"That's a good engine," chuckled Clarabel, and the three friends pulled into Ffarquhar. Thomas' passengers got off, and Thomas yawned.

"I'll think I'll stay the night here, it's getting too dark to go back to Tidmouth now." Thomas shunted the two coaches onto a siding on the opposite side of the yard, and headed off to the sheds.

"Good night, Thomas!" Annie and Clarabel called.

"Good night, Annie and Clarabel!" Thomas chuckled. As Thomas puffed towards the shed, a thought struck him.

"What will the Fat Controller say about my mistake with the guard today?" He thought, but he couldn't think about it much longer, as he finally fell asleep.

* * *

The following morning at Tidmouth Sheds, the Fat Controller came to see Gordon, James, and Henry as they were being stoked up for the day.

"There is a circus coming to Sodor, and they've requested the use of one of you to pull the special train." Gordon, James, and Henry perked up excitedly.

"Looking at your schedules," continued the Fat Controller, "I've decided that the engine to pull the train will be…James." James was surprised, as the Fat Controller was not happy with him.

"Th-thank you, sir!" James whistled excitedly.

"The train is waiting for you at Vicarstown," said the Fat Controller, "Be quick now, as you still have your afternoon train."

"Yes, sir!" James whistled, and he puffed away, leaving Gordon and Henry in shock.

"See you later, you two, you have work to do." And the Fat Controller drove away in his car.

"Not much that can be helped," sighed Gordon, and he puffed away. Henry however, was furious.

"I get no sympathy!" He moaned, and then headed off to collect his train.

For the next few days, James loved pulling the circus train. Unfortunately, this went to his smokebox, and he began bragging to Gordon and Henry as he passed by.

"Make way for a very important engine!" He would call, and then whoosh past. Gordon would just ignore it, but Henry began feeling deeply offended.

"James can pull the circus train but I'm stuck shunting and on goods work! Oh, it's awful…"

At last it was time for the circus to leave. James took the heavy train back to Vicarstown. On the way to Vicarstown was the tunnel, where Henry had once been shut up. As James approached the tunnel, he suddenly heard a loud crack.

"What was that?" He asked his driver.

"I have no idea, but we haven't time to check." And so James continued. If he had stopped however, he would have noticed that one of his passengers was off the train, and was very cross. The passenger walked inside Henry's Tunnel, and decided to take shelter there and rest.

Later that day, the Fat Controller came to see Henry.

"Henry, there have been reports of a strange…blockage in Ballahoo Tunnel. I need you to take some workmen down there to clear it."

"Yes, sir…" grumbled Henry, and he puffed away to pick up the workmen.

Henry stopped near the mouth of the tunnel and the men got out. It was dark, and Henry couldn't see the light on the other side. The foreman addressed them.

"Alright, Fat Controller's orders; find the blockage and start digging!" The men affirmed their superior, and walked inside the tunnel. Henry's driver and fireman stepped down and began eating their lunch.

"Ahem!" Henry coughed loudly. But nothing happened, his crew kept to their lunch.

"A-HEM!" Henry coughed even louder. But his crew was too busy having their sandwiches to notice Henry.

"Oh, I suffer…" Henry groaned, "I feel…neglected, no one cares about me, I can't get an ounce of sympathy out of anyone, no one understands me…"

As Henry grumbled to himself about the state of the world, there was suddenly a loud noise, and the men came scurrying out, shouting. The foreman calmed them down.

"QUIET!" The foreman shouted, "What happened?"

"Well, we found the block and we started digging, but…"

"It was alive! And it moved!"

"We are not going in there again!"

"Silence!" The foreman adjusted his hat, "I shall see to this blockage myself. If worst comes to worse, Henry can just push it aside."

"Wh-what!?" Henry didn't want to go in the tunnel to begin with, much less if there were anything alive in there.

"Come on, Henry," said his driver, "Whatever's in there won't hurt you."

"How do you know that?" squeaked Henry.

The foreman climbed in the truck Henry had brought the workman in, and Henry pushed it forwards. Henry worriedly shivered as he entered the tunnel.

"Oh, oh, oh no." Henry muttered as he disappeared into the darkness. The men looked into the dark tunnel, when suddenly they heard two loud noises. One was the trumpeting noise they heard before, and the other was…

"AHHHHHHHHHH!" Henry exited the tunnel, tender-first and screaming, followed by the foreman who was struggling to keep his balance, and finally a large, cross elephant. The men's fear turned to surprise, then amusement, as the foreman pulled himself off the floor of the truck.

"An elephant? Must have escaped from the circus…" he said as he dusted himself off, "I'll go back to Ballahoo and call the circus, so the keeper can pick it up." And the foreman left, leaving Henry and the workmen along with an elephant.

The men loved the elephant, they gave him some cakes one of them packed, and they gave him buckets of water to drink. Even Henry was beginning to enjoy himself. However, Henry suddenly let off steam, startling the elephant.

"Oh no." Henry cried, but it was too late; the startled elephant squirted him in the face with water. At first, the men were in shock. But then they burst out laughing, as did Henry's crew. Henry was furious.

"An elephant whooshed me! An elephant WHOOSHED me!" Henry whined, waiting for his crew to come to his aid. But they kept laughing and keeping track of the elephant.

"WILL SOMEONE GIVE ME SOME SYMPATHY!" Henry shouted, but it was on deaf ears. Henry growled, but just then the foreman returned with the keeper and a lorry.

"Here he is, sir." The foreman said. The elephant looked happily at its keeper, and the keeper lead it away. As the blockage was clear, Henry went home with the men, and they were laughing and cheering the whole way. Henry wasn't laughing or cheering though. He was very cross.

"That's the last straw! I get no sympathy, and Thomas calls me fat, and no one even bothers to dry me off when an _elephant_ soaks me! Nobody cares about me, and…" Henry's eyes suddenly widened and he donned a sinister grin.

"Yes, I know what I'll do…they'll have to care about me then…and then they will know how much I suffer."

James received a stern talking to by the Fat Controller.

"The circus isn't happy about their elephant breaking loose, James. You're lucky Henry and the workmen found it before someone hit it. If they hadn't you would be in serious trouble." And he walked away, leaving James furious.

Henry returned to Tidmouth Sheds that night, where Gordon and James were waiting. Henry was home earlier than usual, so his crew went off to get an early dinner before Henry's mail train. As soon as they were out of sight, Henry turned to Gordon with the darkest look in his eyes either Gordon or James had ever seen.

"Are you alright Henry?" Gordon asked nervously.

"Strike. I'm in." Henry said simply. Gordon's nervous expression turned to an equally sinister smile.

"Excellent. We'll strike when the time is right."

"Yes, and then they'll know how much I suffer…" Henry began darkly chuckling as his crew returned, stoked him up with some effort and then puffed off to pick up the mail.

* * *

Thomas shows up, finally! And now Henry has succumbed to the strike in order to get some attention and sympathy. Definitely my favorite chapter to write so far, especially the "Henry and the Elephant" part, that was fun. Next chapter, we see Clyde playing a trick on our dear Percy, Gordon and James have some mishaps with turntables, and Thomas stops by a river one afternoon in "Chapter 4: Fishy Circumstances". Stay tuned and review!


	4. Chapter 4 - Fishy Circumstances

In the workshops, the men woke Clyde up one morning. He opened a sleepy eye.

"What do you want?" The big engine grunted, "I'm trying to sleep here."

"Some people are coming to look you over soon and you seem like you need to stretch your wheels, so we're taking you out on a run 'round the workshops."

"Oh alright, alright, let's just get this over with. I'm trying to get my beauty sleep." The men stoked Clyde up and he was soon enough rolling along among the other sleeping engines. Up ahead, he saw Percy sleeping in front of a line of trucks.

"Little squirt must have forgotten to move them," chuckled Clyde, "let's remedy that." And with that, he began to go faster.

"Slow down, Clyde!" His driver called, but it did no good. Clyde rammed into Percy, sending the little black engine flying forwards into the trucks.

"Wh-WHOA!" Percy tried to stop, but he had no driver and couldn't. He rammed into the trucks and sent them hurtling through the buffers. Clyde snickered.

"That'll teach you, runt." And he rolled away. Percy felt awful, and even more so when the chief engineer ran over.

"Percy! What is this?" He was very cross, Percy looked down sadly.

"It was Clyde, sir, he-"

"Percy, in case you haven't noticed Clyde isn't anywhere near here. Now if I were you I would start cleaning up this mess before I ram you off the rails myself!" And he stomped away.

As Percy brought a crane to clear up the mess, he looked crossly at Clyde, who simply sat on a siding, very proud of himself. Percy growled.

"I'll teach that big bully…" he said, and then shunted the trucks he had rescued away while the crane cleared up more.

* * *

Thomas arrived the following day at Elsbridge Station to wait for Henry's train. He had to come down the entire line that morning, which was a decently long journey.

"I'm parched!" He said, but then he looked to the water tower. It had a sign on it, which read…

"Out of order?" Thomas said in a rather confused manner, "Botheration! I always get my water from here!"

"Patient, Thomas," reminded Clarabel, "there's always water at the other stations!"

"I'm afraid not, Clarabel." Thomas' driver peered out of the cab, "Your tank doesn't seem full enough to make it to the next station."

"Relax, driver." Thomas smiled, "I'm fine. Clarabel's right, there's plenty of water at the other stations."

"Yes, but what if you run dry?"

Thomas was so busy arguing with his driver that he didn't notice when Henry arrived with his passengers. Henry let his passengers off, rolled his eyes, and continued on his way.

"My tank is f-oh, Henry! Henry, come back! I have something I want to say to you!" But Henry was already out of sight, trying to make up for lost time.

"There goes my chance," sighed Thomas.

"Don't worry, Thomas. He _does_ come here every day," chuckled Annie.

"You're right." Thomas smiled, and the guard's whistle blew. Thomas made sure everyone was aboard, and he started off.

"I'll be at the next station in no time," Thomas said to himself, "Nothing to it."

Unfortunately, Thomas didn't make it to the next station, and he ran out of water on a bridge overlooking a river.

"That's torn it," sighed his driver, "How are we supposed to get to the next station now? We're stranded!"

Thomas looked down at the river, and had an idea.

"I see people fishing here all the time," said Thomas, "maybe we could do some fishing of our own…"  
"Engines don't go fishing, Thomas!" Annie groaned.

"Don't be daft!" Clarabel agreed.

"I don't mean actually fishing! I mean using a bucket to get water from the river that will fill my tank!"

"I don't know, Thomas," said his driver, "There could be something in that water that could damage you…"  
"We don't really have another option..." The fireman sighed, "Thomas is right. I'll get the bucket."

Thomas' crew took out a leaky bucket from the cab. It had five holes in it, so they had to hoist the bucket down multiple times and as quickly as possible.

"I'm not too sure this is a good idea, Thomas…" Annie said, but Thomas scoffed.

"It's not like we have another option! And I'm sure this will at least last us to the next station!"

Thomas' tanks were finally full, and they set off for the next station. Thomas was very happy when he made it.

"See, I told you! Nothing to it!"

Thomas had been delayed by taking on the water in the river, and he didn't have time to clean his tanks out with clean water, so he simply continued on…with the river water still in his tanks.

Eventually, as Thomas approached Ffarquhar, he began to feel strange. Steam was billowing from his safety valve.

"There's too much steam!" The driver and fireman damped down the fire and Thomas struggled on to the station.

"I've got such a pain! I've got such a pain!" Thomas hissed.

"Easy does it, Thomas, we're almost at the platform!" Clarabel called, but Thomas could go no further.

"I'm going to burst!" He moaned. His driver uncoupled him from Annie and Clarabel, and rolled him onto a siding out of the way. His passengers weren't at the platform, but Thomas was too pained to care.

"I'll call the inspector!" The fireman sprinted off towards the telephone, and the driver found large notices, which he hung on Thomas in front and behind, which said "DANGER. KEEP AWAY".

"I'm going to burst!" Thomas cried in pain. Annie, Clarabel, and the passengers were very concerned.

It didn't take long for the inspector _and_ the Fat Controller to arrive.

"Cheer up, Thomas," said the Fat Controller, "We'll have you alright again soon!"  
"I hope so, sir," Thomas groaned.

"The water tower at Elsbridge was broken, sir, so we took water from the river. There's too much steam, but I don't know what caused it!" The driver scratched his head nervously.

"It seems to me like the feed pipe is blocked," said the inspector, "I'll take a look at it." He climbed on a ladder and looked into the tank. His eyes widened with surprise and he climbed down.

"Excuse me, Sir Topham, please look in the tank and tell me what you see."

"Well, alright then, inspector. Whatever you say!" The Fat Controller climbed up the ladder and looked into the tank as well. What he saw nearly made him fall off the tank in surprise!

"Bless me, inspector, can you see… _fish?_ " The inspector nodded. Thomas was shocked.

"How did fish get into my tanks?" Thomas asked.

"We must have fished them from the river with our bucket," the driver said, "The fish must have been blocking the pipe, and that's why there was so much steam!"

"So you and your driver have been fishing, eh Thomas?" The Fat Controller strode off to the telephone, "Fish don't suit you Thomas, and we must get them out." And he called for his butler to bring down some fishing poles in the car.

Thomas was fuming as his driver, fireman, and the inspector all took turns fishing in his tank.

"Come on, come on, _patience_ is the key, driver," said the Fat Controller, who was telling them how to fish, "let the fish come to _you_." The driver rolled his eyes, but soon enough all the fish had been removed from the tank.

"What are we to do with all this fish, sir?" The inspector asked.

"Hmm…" The Fat Controller pondered.

"Mmm…yes, that was wonderful. Lovely cooking, fireman." The Fat Controller happily wiped his face with his napkin after finishing off the lovely picnic supper of fish and chips. The driver, fireman, and inspector had greatly enjoyed their fish and chips as well, and the passengers had already walked to the platform, being led by the guard. Thomas felt very embarrassed.

"I'm sorry, sir," Thomas sighed, "This is all my fault."

"No it isn't, Thomas," the Fat Controller smiled, "that water column should be fixed by tomorrow, so we'll prevent circumstances like this in future! But fish don't suit you Thomas, so try to not let it happen again."

"Yes, sir," said Thomas, and he puffed back to Annie and Clarabel, while the Fat Controller went home.

"I have to remember the recipe for those fish and chips, they were delicious…"

* * *

The following day, Thomas pulled into Elsbridge Station, where Gordon was waiting.

"Late again, little Thomas." Gordon said, "You better keep to time, or I'll have to leave without your passengers."

"Rubbish," Thomas scoffed. He was still feeling under the weather from his fishing incident.

"Thomas, we tender engines have a position to keep up. It doesn't matter what you do, but for the Fat Controller to make us _shunt and fetch our own coaches…_ " Gordon shuddered, "It's, it's not the proper thing!"

"Wow, _hard work_ , Gordon. _So_ demeaning!" Gordon grumbled as Thomas laughed and headed off with Annie and Clarabel, who were laughing along with him.

"Oh, the indignity!" Gordon continued on towards Vicarstown.

When the big blue engine arrived at Vicarstown, it was normal procedure for him to use the turntable to turn around.

"Driver, do we have to use this turntable? It's so small!"

"Not unless you don't want to look like a tank engine, Gordon."

This shut Gordon up at once. But he was still in a bad temper. The turntable was in a windy place nearby the sea, and Gordon was having trouble stopping in the right place. He wasn't trying.

"Come on, Gordon! Stop being so difficult!" The driver tried to brake Gordon, but he wouldn't stop in the right place and kept on upsetting the balance.

"This is as good as we'll get!" The driver called to the fireman. The fireman tried to turn the handle, but Gordon's weight and the strong winds prevented him from doing so.

"Well, what's the problem?" Gordon grunted.

"Your big tender upsets the balance, Gordon. If you were a tank engine this wouldn't be a problem!"

"A TANK ENGINE!?" Gordon was fuming, but the fireman was more concerned about other things.

"We haven't time to turn you 'round now, so you'll just have to pull the next train backwards."  
Gordon's face turned bright red with fury.

Thomas was waiting at Elsbridge again when he heard a whistle and saw a humorous image.

"Well, bless me! If it isn't Gordon!" Thomas laughed. Gordon was puffing down the line tender-first, and looked very embarrassed.

"Look!" A boy called, "It's a new tank engine!"

"New tank engine, indeed!" Gordon groaned. Thomas was laughing so hard he felt his tanks might come off.

"Playing tank engine, Gordon?" Thomas grinned cheekily.

"Sensible engine!" Giggled Clarabel.

"Take my advice," continued Thomas, "Scrap your tender and have a nice bunker, then you'll feel much better, and be really useful too!"

Thomas, Annie, and Clarabel were laughing quite hard as they steamed away, leaving a seething Gordon at the platform.

Everyone laughed at Gordon as he passed by. Even James!

"Gordon the Tank Engine, haha, that's a good one!" James chortled as he moved his coaches to the platform.

"Take care, _James,_ you might stick too!" Gordon said, but James just laughed.

"I'm not scared of some winds!" James laughed, "And besides, I'm not nearly as fat as you are!"  
"Oh…" Gordon moaned but James was already off laughing. It was the first time in weeks that he wasn't the butt of the joke!

Later that day, James returned to Tidmouth Sheds to use the turntable. He stopped on just the right place to balance the table.

"I'm better than fat Gordon!" But James spoke too soon. Gordon was passing on his way to the station, and saw James begin to pick up speed.

"This should be good…" Gordon chuckled.

"Wh-whoa! Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa…" James spun much too easily, and he began to pick up speed, whipping up the dust around him. The wind whipped him around like a top, and he couldn't stop. When he finally did, he was very giddy.

"Looks like you need to put on a few pounds, _little_ James! Engines don't play roundabouts!" Gordon laughed, and James knew that he had seen the entire thing. So he said nothing, and simply backed into the shed to avoid further embarrassment.

That evening, the big engines had another meeting.

"Gentlemen, we are here to express our indignation. It-"

"I suffer dreadfully, and no one cares!"

"…Thank you, Henry. We are all aware of this fact. Anyway, it's absolutely shameful for us to be treated like this."

"Gordon has to go backwards and people think he's a tank engine…" Henry said.

"James spins around like a top and everyone laughs at him…" Gordon continued.

"Henry gets whooshed by an elephant…" James said.

"…And everyone laughs at us!" Gordon finished, "It's…disgraceful!"

"Disgusting!"

"Despicable!"

"…I like the sound of that. We should do that more often."

"Yes, indeed."

"I do concur."

"Anyway, to add to that, the Fat Controller makes all shunt in dirty sidings!"

"Ugh!"

"Gentlemen, our strike will come into effect tomorrow, and then the Fat Controller will treat us the way we should be treated! This injustice can not be tolerated!"

The big engines all agreed that the strike would begin tomorrow. And they wouldn't stop until they were treated better.

* * *

Well, well, well. Certainly, it has been a while. This chapter took the longest to write, and for good reason, as I've been very busy as of late. Don't worry, from here on out I'll have a more consistent update schedule. Next chapter is a bit of a breather, as it revolves around Percy and Clyde, with Thomas, Annie and Clarabel making a very short appearance to meet a new friend. See this in "Chapter 5 - New Friends, Old Enemies".


	5. Chapter 5 - New Friends, Old Enemies

Thomas was taking his evening train along his branch line, when he had to stop at a signal by a field.

"It's a wonderful evening," Annie said.

"Yes indeed," said Thomas in agreement. However, they soon heard a strange noise. It sounded like "PICKITEH-POCKITEH-PICKITEH-POCKITEH", and it was getting louder!

"What's that?" Clarabel questioned, Thomas looked at the field. There was an orange…thing moving towards them.

"I don't know, Clarabel, but he looks rather odd…look, he hasn't got wheels!" Annie called, and she was right. The machine didn't have any wheels, just round structures and weird coverings that went around them. The machine rolled over.

"Hallo!" The machine said cheerfully.

"Who are you?" Thomas asked.

"I'm Terence, Terence the Tractor. I plough this field. My owner sure puts me through the ringer! But I'm very strong, so I get by!" Terence chuckled, "And who are you?"

"I'm Thomas, Thomas the Tank Engine, and I run this branch line." Thomas wasn't getting a good impression from this "Terence" character.

"Do you now?" Terence smiled. It seemed genuine to Terence, but to Thomas it looked rather smug,

"What ugly wheels you've got!" Thomas blurted out, trying to think of something to say back to the tractor.

"They're not ugly, they're caterpillars!" Terence grinned.

"Caterpillars?" Clarabel quizzed.

"I'm adaptable! I can go anywhere; I don't need any rails like you! I go wherever I need to and do whatever jobs I'm needed for!" Terence gave a proud smile. Annie and Clarabel were impressed, but Thomas wasn't. His signal dropped.

"Oh dear, the signal dropped. Goodbye, Terence!" And Thomas puffed away as quickly as he could. Terence smiled and hooted his horn.

"Goodbye, Thomas! Pickiteh-pockiteh…"

On their way home, Thomas grumbled.

"I don't need caterpillars to be really useful!" And he sped up to try and make up for lost time.

* * *

At the workshops, Percy was shunting some more trucks full of parts.

"Almost done, now." Percy put the trucks on a siding, when he suddenly heard a familiar puffing. The little black engine groaned; it was Clyde.

"'Afternoon, Perce." Clyde sneered, "Shunting trucks of scrap? Being _real_ useful? I doubt it, knowing you."

"Sh-shut it, Clyde," Percy stuttered meekly. The big engine laughed.

"Runt Percy's afraid of the big bad Clyde? How cute." Clyde began to steam once again, "Watch yourself, Perce, or you might come off the rails!" With that, he blew a cloud of soot and smoke at Percy, who coughed as the bully rolled away, snorting with laughter.

"I can't wait until tonight…" Percy said.

"Easy does it, Percy, we'll get him back soon enough," the driver said, and Percy rolled away.

Later that day, Clyde was on another run when he saw Percy sleeping on a siding up ahead.

"Heh, he almost makes this too easy!" Clyde steamed up alongside Percy and prepared to blow a cloud of steam and smog at him, when suddenly…

"WHEESH!" Steam erupted from Percy's cylinders, and shot Clyde right across the face!  
"Ow! Ow! Pt-pt-WHAT WAS THAT FOR!?" Clyde was sopping wet. His smoke deflectors were covered in water, as was his face.

"Stop bullying me, Clyde, or I'll do it again!" Percy gave the most serious and confident glare that Clyde had ever seen.

"Oh-er, right." Clyde awkwardly puffed away, not wanting to invoke Percy's wrath.

"Those big engines are all the same! All cowards! They constantly belittle me, but they can't take it! Stupid tender cowards!" Percy was furious.

"Easy, Percy!" His driver said, "The trick worked, didn't it?"

"I-oh. I guess it did." Percy gave a cocky smile, but he still was furious at Clyde. What he said about Clyde still loomed fresh in his mind.

 _"You big engines are all the same."_

 _"All cowards."_

 _"Cowards."_

* * *

The Fat Controller strode into his office one day and set down his briefcase. He took out some paperwork and proceeded to go through it.

"Oh, that's for those goods engines…yes, for the Midland…new green paint…" He looked outside his window and saw that there was no train waiting at the platform.

"That's funny, Henry should be here by now…" but he simply returned to his paperwork without thinking much of it.

However, as time passed, Henry didn't come. Passengers began to gather on the platform waiting for their trains. They didn't come. Soon enough, they began to grow cross, and began knocking on the Fat Controller's door.

"Sorry, busy!" He called. However, he heard a particular knock.

"Stationmaster, is that you?" He walked to the door and let the stationmaster in.

"Sir, Henry isn't coming! He's sulking in the shed and there's no train! The people are getting rather angry, sir…"

"I shall see to the matter at once," said the Fat Controller, "Hold down the fort for me while I'm gone." And with that he left his office, strode up to his car, and drove away.

* * *

This chapter was easier to write, as it only serves as introduction and exposition for other characters. This is a breather chapter, as the next few ones are going to be rather meaty. This is the last time we see Clyde, so bid him farewell, but we also get introduced to Terence, who we don't see again for a while. So, prepare to see what the trouble in the shed is in the next chapter; Chapter 6 - Strike!


	6. Chapter 6 - Strike

The Fat Controller soon enough drove up to the sheds. Gordon, James, and Henry were sitting in their berths.

"Henry, are you having trouble with your fire again? Don't worry, happens to the best of us," said the Fat Controller. Henry shot the Fat Controller a sharp glare, much to his surprise.

"Is everything alright, Henry?" Gordon cleared his throat.

"We are on strike, sir. You make us shunt our own coaches, and go own dirty sidings and fetch our own trucks! It's disgusting! We've had enough. So, we, as tender engines are telling you this now; tender engines don't shunt. And until you take action so we will no longer have to fetch our own coaches, we are not moving from our sheds! So there!" And with that, the three engines wheeshed steam at the Fat Controller. He was not impressed.

"Very well, Gordon. I will go and find an engine to do your shunting. But know that I expect you to work twice as hard now that I've given you what you want." The Fat Controller then went to his car. Gordon called after him.

"Pleasure doing business with you, sir." Gordon smirked, and the Fat Controller drove away.

As the three big engines talked amongst themselves, the Fat Controller turned onto the road.

"The yard has not been the same since Thomas left to run the branch line…I hope Edward can sort this mess out…"

Over at Wellsworth, Edward was shunting some trucks.

"Come on, trucks! Get moving!" Edward pushed them towards some buffers.

"Sorry, Edward!" The trucks replied and stopped being troublesome. The trucks liked Edward. He was always gentle and never rude, and he treated them much better than the other engines. Suddenly, Edward saw the Fat Controller's car.

"Oh, that's the Fat Controller. I wonder what he could be doing here?" Edward remarked. The Fat Controller stepped out of his car and adjusted his top hat.

"Morning, Sir!" Edward greeted. The Fat Controller tipped his hat.

"Morning, Edward. Sorry for the short notice, but I need you to pilot the big station for a while. The big engines have gone on strike until they have an engine to shunt their coaches."

"Don't worry, sir. I'll put them back in order!" Edward smiled, and left his trucks on the siding to return to Tidmouth.

"That's a good engine! Be quick now, Henry's train is already late!"

"Yes, sir!" And with that, Edward wheeshed down the line towards Knapford.

The big engines were pleased that the Fat Controller had listened to them, but were not pleased when they found out who had come to shunt their coaches.

"Hello, Gordon!" Edward called as he pulled alongside with some coaches.

"Edward? He brought _you_ here to shunt our coaches?" Gordon was aghast.

"Of course!" Edward said, before adding, sternly, "I don't sit around in the shed to get what I want you know!" And he rolled off with his coaches.

"Where are you going!?" Gordon spluttered.

"I have trains to pull, too!" Edward called back, leaving the big blue engine in a huff.

"Does this mean I have to shunt my own coaches?" James groaned as he rolled into the platform.

"Yes, James." Gordon grunted, "It's clear the Fat Controller hasn't seen to our demands in the way we wanted." And with that Gordon rolled away. As James rolled off to fetch his coaches, Henry rolled into the platform with his own. He sighed and headed back to work.

Edward worked hard at the big station, but he couldn't be there all the time. And when he wasn't, the big engines had to shunt their own coaches. Gordon especially was furious that their demands weren't completely fulfilled, and told the other engines to say rude things to Edward. James and Henry were reluctant, but Gordon was insistent that they go on until they got Edward out of the yard.

"Traitor!" Gordon hissed as Edward shunted his coaches one morning.

"I'm just doing my job!" Edward said and headed off to do more work.

The insults continued, breaking Edward down more and more. Henry felt guilty, so he decided to try and talk to Edward.

"Hello, Edward," Henry said softly as he approached Edward, "sorry for all those rude things Gordon said…"

"It's alright, Henry, just let me focus on my work." And with that Edward rolled away.

"Oh…" Henry puffed away, feeling rather guilty.

Edward tried hard, but Gordon's scathing insults began to have an effect on him. One day, Edward was shunting some coal trucks when the big blue engine rolled alongside.

"Black wheels!" Gordon shouted, blew off steam, and continued on. This was the last straw and Edward finally broke down.

"I don't know what's wrong with me! I come to shunt their coaches and all they do is moan and complain! I only came to help!" Edward was growing hysterical, but he heard a familiar voice.

"Bless me, Edward! Are you alright?" The Fat Controller looked alarmed.

"Is there something wrong with me, sir?" The Fat Controller looked rather puzzled, but Edward continued. "The big engines have been saying rude things to me, sir, and Gordon says I have black wheels! I don't…do I, sir?"

"No, Edward. You have nice blue wheels. But it has become clear to me that I need to get a new tank engine to shunt the yards. I'll be traveling to the Mainland on the Express tomorrow to visit an engine workshop. I want you to keep working here and don't let what they say get to you!" The Fat Controller walked to his car.

"Goodbye, sir!" Edward called as The Fat Controller drove away. As Edward returned to his shunting, he failed to notice Henry on a siding nearby.

"Edward! I'm…" but Edward was already out of sight, "…sorry. Oh."

* * *

The Fat Controller got off the train at the Mainland station, and hopped on another train. The guard opened the door for him.

"So nice to see you again, Mr. Hatt. Will you be stopping by Brighton again sir? Or are you on holiday?"

"No actually, I'm headed further up the line. I've scheduled an appointment at an engine workshop. Holiday does sound nice, though…"

"Ah. Well, I hope you enjoy your trip, sir."

Soon enough, the Fat Controller arrived at the engine workshop. He saw engines of all shapes and sizes. The Chief Engineer walked up to him.

"Hello, Mr. Hatt! Pleased to see you, we have been prepping all of our engines for your arrival. If you could just excuse me, I have something to attend to so just sit tight for a bit." The engineer then ran off to where a large engine with smoke deflectors had bursted his safety valve.

"Foolish thing…" muttered the Fat Controller. He decided to walk to where a folding chair was and sat down. As he rested however, he was surprised to see a little black tank engine shunting trucks nearby. The engine had four small wheels, a saddletank, and was pushing a lot of trucks, more than it looked that he was capable of for his size.

"Perfect!" The Fat Controller walked over to the little engine.

"Excuse me! Um, excuse me!" The Fat Controller waved his arms, stopping the little engine. The driver poked his head out of the cab.

"Can we help you, sir?"

"Yes, indeed. You see, I have come here in search of a new engine, and your engine here is absolutely perfect for what I need-Oh, pardon me, I didn't introduce myself. My name is Sir Topham Hatt. I run a railway called the North Western on the Island of Sodor, and I have come here in need of a new engine. My big engines have been absolutely ridiculous; they refuse to shunt their own trains and they went on strike until I bought another engine. So I need a tank engine to shunt the big station."

" _Strike?_ That's rather silly." The little tank engine laughed.

"I agree with you, but I have to take it seriously or I've lost the three strongest engines on my line. So, I need an engine like you to run my yard." The Fat Controller sighed, but his face perked up.

"I'm sorry, I don't know your name. What is it?"

"Well, I don't really have a name, sir. But everyone around here likes to call me 'Percy'." The little engine replied.

"Excellent! Percy is a wonderful name! I'll talk to the chief engineer at once!"

However, the Chief Mechanical Engineer came over.

"Ah, Mr. Hatt. I see you've met our works pilot; we like to call him 'Percy'. Scrappy little chap, great with trucks. We really need him around here to keep things running." The Fat Controller frowned.

"So is he not for sale?"

"For the right price, perhaps…"

A few minutes later, the Fat Controller was talking to the owner of the workshops in his office about buying Percy, and the tank engine was ecstatic.

"I'm going to Sodor! I'm going to Sodor!" He puffed excitedly. And when the Fat Controller emerged from the office…

"Welcome to the North Western Railway, Percy!" And the little tank engine erupted in whistles.

"Calm down, Percy! We aren't on Sodor yet!" Chuckled the Fat Controller. Percy blushed.

"Whoops. Sorry, sir."

* * *

The Fat Controller rode in Percy's cab with the crew all the way to Sodor. The little black tank engine was very happy to be a part of a new railway. When they arrived in the big station yard the following morning, Edward was pleased to see the new arrival.

"Hello! You must be the new engine! I'm Edward." Edward smiled, and Percy smiled back.

"I'm Percy! I came from an engine workshop on the mainland!" Percy was grinning from ear to ear. Edward could certainly tell the newcomer was excited.

"Well, we're all glad you're here, Percy!" Edward chuckled. This newcomer reminded him a lot of Thomas! The Fat Controller stepped down from the cab.

"Edward, I'd like to meet Percy, my newest asset! I want you to show him around for a few days; until he knows what to do!" Edward smiled understandingly.

"Of course, sir! Come on, Percy, I have to show you the yard!" The two engines rolled away, leaving the Fat Controller chuckling.

"Welcome aboard, Percy." He smiled, and returned to his office.

Percy learned fast, and soon enough he and Edward had been all over the yard. Edward was very impressed.

"You're quite strong, Percy! You're certainly learning much faster than Thomas did." Edward chuckled. Percy raised an eyebrow.

"Who's Thomas?"

"Thomas is our number one engine, but he doesn't live around here. He has his own branch line, and I only ever see him when I come to bring him passengers. He used to shunt this yard until he saved James and got that branch line he runs." Percy was impressed.

"This Thomas sounds really useful." He said, "I'd certainly like to meet him."

"I'm sure you will someday." Edward smiled, "Now come on, we have to see the shed!"

And the two engines rolled away towards the shed.

"Here it is, Percy; Tidmouth Sheds." Edward said as he pulled up to the shed. Percy was amazed. However, he saw a big green engine resting in the sheds.

"What's the big green lout doing lazing around instead of doing real work?" Percy asked. Edward sighed.

"That's Henry. He's a little…" But Percy was already puffing alongside the big green engine.

"WHEESH!" Percy let out a blast of steam into Henry's face, causing the green engine to cough and splutter.

"HEY! I DIDN'T ASK FOR ANOTHER ELEPHANT!" Henry cried, but then he saw the little black engine sitting alongside him.

"Who are you?" Henry was aghast.

"I'm Percy, your new pilot! Just wanted to introduce myself!" Percy whistled cheekily. Edward was surprised.

"Percy, where did you learn to wheesh like that?" Edward said in surprise.

"Back at the workshops, I had to wheesh loudly to…" Percy stopped himself, "…make myself heard!" Edward raised an eyebrow.

"Come on, Percy. We have to get to work! Gordon will be waiting for his coaches!" Edward backed away. Percy looked at Henry and smirked at the flustered tender engine, before rolling away.

Gordon was waiting at the platform, when he heard a whistle he didn't recognize.

"That's funny, never heard that whistle before…" Suddenly he felt a bump behind him, and there were his coaches. Gordon spluttered.

"Wh-what! How did those get there!?" His answer rolled alongside him.

"Hello!" The little black engine whistled cheekily, "I'm Percy, I'm the new pilot! And you, I take it, are Gordon?"

"Well, I take it word of my speed and strength has spread to the mainland, eh? Not surprised, of course…"

"No, it's just because you're so fat!" And the little black engine rolled away.

Gordon groaned in fury.

James was sitting on a siding. Much like Henry, the guilt over the strike was taking its toll on him. Mostly, he remembered the Fat Controller's words from when he soaked his top hat.

"…have you painted blue…"

"…painted blue…"

"…blue…"

"NO! I CAN'T BE BLUE! Being red is all I have! I can't pull the express, I'm not wise like Edward, and I don't have a branch line! It's the only reason I'm special! If I'm blue, I'll be just another engine! I don't want to be just another engine! They'll bully me like they did with my old brakes!"

And James had his panic episode, Percy rolled alongside.

"My, my, you look scared. Feeling a little blue?" The little engine said cheekily.

"AH!" James yelped in surprise, "Who are you?"

"I'm Percy! I'm shunting your station now, so stop sitting around doing nothing so I can move these trucks!" James moved out of the way, and Percy shunted his trucks. As James headed off, he muttered to himself.

"I won't be blue…I won't be blue…"

"What a silly engine!" Percy laughed and got back to work.

* * *

That evening, Percy stayed at Tidmouth Sheds for the first time. Henry, Gordon, and James weren't very fond of him, but he didn't care. They were tender engines; all cowards who can insult smaller engines but can't take retaliation, just like Clyde…

"Hello, engines!" The Fat Controller called, and he walked up to the five engines in the shed, "I'm here about a rearrangement of duties."

"What? Will I run twice as many expresses?" Gordon grinned cockily.

"No, Gordon. In fact, I'm shutting you, Henry, and James in the shed for a week until you learn to behave yourselves."

"WHAT!?" The three engines said together. The Fat Controller looked sternly at them.

"Your little strike caused a great deal of confusion and delay. And I got you what you wanted. But I don't want this to be a regular occurrence, so I'm setting an example. I'm keeping you three out of service until you've thought about what you've done." The three engines were starstruck, but the Fat Controller turned to Edward and Percy.

"As a result of the big engines' absence, I will be splitting the trains between the two of you and Thomas. He'll be coming up to Knapford for a meeting tomorrow morning. Percy, I need you down at the Steamworks before that, so I'd recommend going tonight." Percy beamed.

"I guess you'll get to meet Thomas after all!" Edward laughed.

"Yes, I will!" Percy smiled, and sped off towards the Steamworks. As Edward followed, the Fat Controller gave a final stern look towards the big engines and shut the doors of each berth. Gordon simply growled.

Although it took a while, Percy was soon enough repainted in a splendid green with red stripes, with a number 6 painted on both sides. He looked very smart, and Edward was impressed.

"You look great, Percy!"

"Thank you! This is much better than my old paint!" Percy laughed.

"Now let's get some sleep so we can prepare for tomorrow." Edward said, and backed out of the works.

"Right away, Edward!" Percy called, and looked at his number 6 proudly before starting off.

* * *

Well, this one was the meatiest yet! Percy has joined the ranks of the NWR, and has already made himself a name in the yards! But his impression on Gordon, and the not-nearly-as-involved Henry and James, may cause some trouble for him. However, the three big engines are shut up in the sheds, so who does that leave? See the start of Thomas and Percy's iconic friendship in Chapter 7: "Three Little Engines"!


	7. Chapter 7 - Three Little Engines

The following morning, Edward and Percy met the Fat Controller in the yards by the big station. As they arrived, they heard a whistle.

"Peep peep! Hello everyone!" In puffed a blue tank engine that Percy had never seen before.

"Hello, Thomas! Long time no see!" Laughed Edward. Thomas smiled at his old friend.

"Yes indeed, Edward. And you," Thomas looked at the little green tank engine, who looked rather uneasy, "I've heard that you've been giving the big engines a run for their money. Good on you!" Percy gave a small smile.

"Thanks. My name's Percy." The little engine said, and Thomas smiled back.

"Well, its great to meet you, Percy." Thomas grinned.

"Settle down, engines," said the Fat Controller, "Seeing as Gordon, James, and Henry are in the sheds, I'll be rearranging your duties. Edward, you and Thomas will manage main-line trains, and Percy, you'll run the branch line." Both Thomas and Percy were surprised.

"Sir?" Thomas said, "Why can't I run my branch line and Percy pull main-line trains?"

"Percy can't hold as much water as you, Thomas. And besides, I'm sure Annie and Clarabel will be able to teach him to pull trains if the need arises when things are back to normal." The Fat Controller smiled, "And besides, I'll still have you down there to check on him seeing as your managing Henry's service, which stops at Elsbridge."

Thomas looked down, worried. But he gave a small smile.

"Yes, sir." Thomas said softly. The Fat Controller smiled back at him.

"Excellent. Services have been temporarily closed other than the express, which I trust you with at the moment Edward. Thomas, I want you to double-head a train with Percy along the line. Show him the ropes."

"Yes, sir." Thomas said. He looked at Percy.

"Come on, Percy. We have a train to pull!" He said and puffed off proudly. Percy was impressed.

"Wow…" he said, and followed after Thomas.

* * *

Thomas and Percy soon arrived at the carriage shed. Annie and Clarabel were there.

"Hello, Thomas! Who's this dashing young engine you have with you?" Annie asked. Thomas grinned.

"This is Percy. Percy, these two are Annie and Clarabel. They're my coaches. You're going to work with them while you run my branch line." Percy gave a shy smile.

"Hello…" Percy said quietly. Annie and Clarabel, however, were curious.

"Why's Percy running _your_ branch line, Thomas?" Asked Clarabel.

"The big engines were being silly and now the Fat Controller's locked them up in the sheds," Thomas explained, "So the Fat Controller is having Edward and I run main line trains, and Percy will be running the branch line."

"Well, he better do a good job!" Annie scoffed.

"It'd be hard to beat you, Thomas." Clarabel said. Percy looked nervous. Thomas grinned.

"No pressure, Percy. Come on, I can't wait to show you my line!"

The two engines collected the coaches and started off.

* * *

Percy absolutely loved Thomas' branch line. He loved the grass and trees; it was much closer to nature than the industrial environments he was used to. He and Thomas passed by a river with Annie and Clarabel.

"Which river is this, Thomas?" Percy asked.

"That's the Hackenbeck Stream, Percy." Thomas said, but then he frowned. "Oh no, that means Terence is near here…"

As if on cue, the orange tractor rolled up alongside on the road.

"Hallo, Thomas! And who's this little engine you have with you?" Terence asked.

"This is Percy," Thomas grunted, "He's going to be working here for a while, Terence."

"Great!" Grinned Terence, "still wonderful to have someone around!" Thomas cut the conversation short by speeding up.

"I don't get why you don't like him, Thomas." Annie said, "He's just being friendly!"

"He thinks he's better than me." Thomas grumbled.

"W-w-well he isn't!" Percy said, before Annie and Clarabel could say anything. Thomas was surprised.

"Thanks, Percy." Thomas' closest friend was Edward, but Percy had a lot in common with Thomas.

By the time they reached the junction at the top of Thomas' line, the two engines had become great friends. The two engines chattered excitedly as they left Annie and Clarabel on a siding.

"Already like peas in a pod!" Clarabel mused.

"Yes indeed," chuckled Annie, "Those two are going to be very good friends!"

As Thomas and Percy rumbled along, they saw an old sign blocking an old line.

"What's that, Thomas?" Percy asked.

"I don't know, Percy…" Thomas asked, but Edward rolled alongside.

"That line used to lead up to the old harbour. It hasn't been used in years, but the Fat Controller is looking into fixing it up."

"A harbour on my branch line?" Thomas marveled, "Wow…tell you what, Percy. If you do well here, I'll the Fat Controller to let you work at the harbour once they've fixed it up."

Percy grinned.

"Deal."

* * *

Throughout the week, the three little engines worked hard. Edward managed the express and longer passenger and goods trains. Thomas managed the smaller trains on the main line, and Percy worked with Annie and Clarabel. There were fewer trains, but the passengers didn't mind. They knew Thomas, Percy, and Edward were trying their best. The engines kept great time and they made the Fat Controller quite proud. Percy especially was getting high praise; from Annie and Clarabel the most!

"Excellent, Percy!" Annie called to Percy as he pulled into Elsbridge right on time.

"Thanks, Annie!" Percy grinned. He heard a whistle, and Edward bustled into the station. Thomas had offered to run one of his express services, so Edward was able to take a stopping train.

"Hello, Percy! Today's the last day before the Fat Controller lets the big engines out of the shed!" Edward grinned, "It'll be great to have a rest, huh?" However, Percy was frowning.

"What's wrong, Percy?" Edward asked.

"Those big engines bullied you, Edward. Why are you happy that they're coming out of the shed? All big engines are the same. They're cowards. They can insult and belittle you all they want but as soon as you rebel back they simply moan about boiler sludge and run away. Like Clyde." Percy sighed. Edward was taken aback, but he regained his composure and smiled.

"That might be true about some big engines, Percy. But certainly not all of them. Even our big engines have good qualities."

"Really?"

"Sure! Henry may seem a little high-strung, but that's only because he's sickly, Percy. Henry was the second true friend I had on this railway, and he's one of the hardest working engines I know. And James? Most versatile engine I've ever known. He'll do whatever job he's given, even with a little complaining."

"And what about Gordon?" Percy asked. Edward paused.

"…Gordon is fast and strong, and he knows it. Even if he's a little puffed up about it, Gordon's work is very important, Percy. You have to realize that the world isn't black and white, Percy; there is good in everyone if you search hard enough." The guard's whistle blew, and Edward headed off, whistling goodbye to Percy.

Percy simply sat in thought before leaving with his own train.

* * *

That evening, Thomas returned to his branch line and Edward to his station. Percy waited for Thomas to go back to Ffarquhar at Elsbridge.

"You can come visit anytime!" Called Annie.

"Yes!" Clarabel smiled, "We'd be very happy to have you!"

Thomas smiled at his new friend.

"It was very nice to meet you, Percy. I hope I can keep my promise to you on that harbour!"

"Goodbye, Thomas!" Percy whistled, and the little blue tank engine puffed away. As he did, Percy headed back to Tidmouth Sheds.

After the Fat Controller let the big engines out, he had a long talk with them.

"I hope you three have learned your lesson." The Fat Controller said, "And I trust that incidents like this won't happen again?"

"Yes, sir." The three engines said in unison. The Fat Controller headed back to his car.

"Great," grumbled Gordon, "Back at work with that imp of a tank engine shunting our coaches. Better than nothing I guess…"

"Maybe if we were a little nicer to Percy, he wouldn't play as many tricks on us?" Henry suggested. Before Gordon could reply, they heard a familiar whistle.

"Speak of the devil," Gordon groaned, but Henry puffed forward onto the turntable. Percy was surprised to see Henry.

"Hello, Percy." The big green engine smiled gently, "I just wanted to say thanks for managing our trains this whole week. From what I heard from Sir Topham Hatt, you have been really useful." Percy was taken aback by Henry's kindness; no big engine had ever been nice to him before.

"Thank you, Henry." Percy said quietly, and Henry smiled back.

"Would you like to pull my mail train tonight? It's a relatively peaceful run. I'm sure that you'd like a nice long run after being rushed about with passengers." He said, before sadly looking down, "And besides, I usually have some sort of trouble with my firebox while I pull it, I'm sure you'd be better than me." Percy raised an eyebrow.

"Sure, I'll pull your train for you." Percy said, and he rolled away to Knapford to fetch water and coal before his evening journey.

* * *

Percy arrived at Knapford, where his mail coaches were waiting. They were loaded with mail. Percy was excited; it wasn't very often when he traveled at night. The guard's whistle blew, and Percy's driver opened the regulator.

"Come on Percy!" His driver said, "We've got our very first mail run!"

And Percy puffed off into the night.

(SONG: NIGHT TRAIN)

 _See how the night sky glows,_

 _See the light from the night train,_

 _The fire glow from the night train._

 _On down the line he blows..._

 _Woooooo-oooooo!_

 _On down the line he blows._

Percy loved the feeling of the night air across his boiler. The mail coaches thundered along behind him as he saw the empty line out in front of him. He felt the most alive he ever had; definitely more than in the workshops!

 _All through the night he goes._

 _Hear the sound of the night train._

 _The chugga-chugg-chugg of the night train._

 _Hear how his whistle blows..._

 _Woooooo-oooooo!_

 _Hear how his whistle blows._

Another signal shown green as Percy rolled on. He whistled as he blazed through the signal.

 _Pulling, heaving, little engine breathing._

 _Pistons pushing side by side._

 _Driver checking, gauging, peering,_

 _Fireman stoking by his side._

Percy whistled again, enjoying the echo through the night air.

 _On down the line they go._

 _Fast track for the mail train,_

 _Clear away for the post train._

 _Non-stop all night they go..._

 _Woooooo-oooooo!_

 _Non-stop all night they go._

 _See how the night sky glows._

 _Clear ahead for the night train._

 _Green light for the night train._

 _On down the track he blows..._

 _Woooooo-oooooo!_

 _On down the track he blows._

Percy pulled into Wellsworth to drop off some mail. As his train was unloaded, he saw Edward fast asleep.

"Hello, Edward!" Percy whispered, and Edward opened a sleepy eye.

"Hello, Percy…What are you doing pulling Henry's mail train?"

"Henry offered to let me pull it tonight, and it's wonderful!"

"He's giving up a lot…he loves that run…"

Percy was surprised. A big engine he had mistreated had allowed him to pull their favorite train?

"Wow…" Percy said, but he didn't have much time to think as the guard's whistle blew again and he rolled off into the night.

 _Dawn is breaking, sleepy town waking._

 _Children waving, watch him go._

 _Freight trains, milk trains,_

 _Boat trains waiting,_

 _Stand aside to let him go._

Percy was still making his deliveries, as morning grew nearer. Although he tried to keep himself from doing so, he began to get tired.

 _There in the morning glow_

 _The sunlight on the night train_

 _Silhouettes the night train._

 _On down the line he blows..._

 _Woooooo-oooooo!_

 _There in the morning glow._

 _All through the night he goes._

 _Hear the sound of the night train,_

 _The chugga-chugg-chugg of the night train._

 _Hear how his whistle blows..._

 _Woooooo-oooooo!_

 _Hear how his whistle blows._

 _On down the line he goes,_

 _On down the line he goes..._

Percy completed his final delivery and headed back home to Tidmouth Sheds. He saw that the berth next to Henry was empty and took it. As he settled down to sleep for a few hours, he whispered.

"Thanks, Henry." He said, before yawning and falling asleep. Unbeknownst to Percy, Henry opened a sleepy eye.

"You're welcome, friend." Henry smiled, before returning to sleep himself.

* * *

Well, well, well. Thomas and Percy hit it off, and Henry tries to gain Percy's friendship? What a chapter, eh? I loved writing this chapter, especially the Night Train bit. Allow me to say that this chapter is the last of these relaxed chapters, although there was a lot of good interactions in this chapter. In a sadder note, this is the last major role Henry will play in the story. He'll appear interspersed throughout the next few stories, but he, as well as Edward, are going to be taking a backseat for the next chapter leading up to the ending. As for next chapter? See two unlikely heroes come and save the day, and prove themselves, in "Chapter 8 - Rising to the Occasion"!


	8. Chapter 8 - Rising to the Occasion

The following morning, James was shunting trucks nearby the Steamworks. He was rather shaken by the consequences of the strike, and simply wanted a nice quiet job. However, as he shunted his trucks, he saw something that made him yelp in surprise.

"Paint! _Blue_ paint!" James cried, and sure enough, blue paint pots were sitting in the doorway to the Steamworks. James remembered what the Fat Controller had said about painting him blue.

"I have to show him that I still deserve my red paint! I have to do something really useful!" He said, and as he finished his shunting, he bustled back to Knapford to try and find something to do.

* * *

Back at the big station, the Fat Controller was discussing scheduling with the yard manager.

"…so if he goes here, and he goes here, and he goes here…Who does that leave to pull these trucks?" Asked the Fat Controller, gesturing to a long line of trucks.

"Er, sorry, sir. Bit of an oversight…" The yard manager scratched the back of his head nervously. However, both men failed to notice James entering the yards. He overheard the conversation.

"That's a lot of Troublesome Trucks…" James squeaked. James looked at the long line and began to remember his first accident on the railway.

 _"_ _My brakeblocks are on fire! They're made of wood!"_

 _"_ _I'm coming off the rails!"_

 _CRASH!_

James winced and began to back away, but then he stopped himself.

"Really useful engines do what they need to," He said, and scooted forwards.

"Excuse me, sir?" James said, and the Fat Controller looked over, "If you need an engine to take these trucks, I'd be happy to do it." The Fat Controller was surprised.

"Oh, well, if you say so James. Wait right at the platform, I'll have Percy shunt them for you."

James was filled with trepidation and excitement. This was his chance to prove himself!

James waited on a siding while Percy shunted his trucks. The little green tank engine was rather conflicted about the events of the previous night.

"Henry gave up his favorite train for _me?_ " He said to himself, but when he saw James waiting up ahead he saw the opportunity for some teasing.

"Hey James!" He whistled cheekily as he sped by, "Your trucks are ready! I hope you've got bootlaces!" And he chortled on, leaving James to scowl before going to back to collect his trucks.

"Oh, oh, OH!" They groaned as James rammed into them, "We want a proper engine, not a red monster!" Their groans turned into cackles and James growled.

"I am a proper engine!" James said, "And I can show you trucks how proper and really useful I am!" His wheels then began to turn.

"Come along, come along!" He shouted to the trucks as his wheels gripped the rails. The trucks groaned.

"No you won't! No you won't!" They chorused, but James didn't care as he pulled the heavy trucks out of the station.

James had been running on steadily for a while when suddenly he heard a screeching noise.

"What is that?" He asked his driver as the train was braked to a stop.

"Looks like one of the trucks' brakes is on. We'll just fix that and be on our way!" As the driver and fireman fixed the truck, the others giggled while James glared at them.

"You did that on purpose you silly things!" He scowled.

"Nyah-nyah-nyah-nyah-nyah!" Spat the truck whose brakes had come on.

"A hot box? What is wrong with these stupid trucks?" James groaned as his driver fixed the sixth stop of the journey.

"They just seem determined to cause trouble," sighed the driver, "We might need to get another engine for help!" James' worried scowl turned into a determined one, and he looked straight ahead.

"No, driver. I won't let these Troublesome Trucks beat me. Come on, we have to make up for lost time." James said, and he pushed onwards after his driver opened the regulator once more.

"Give up, James! You could never pull us? You're practically turning _blue_ trying!" The trucks laughed, but James didn't care and kept pulling onwards.

"I can and I will! I can and I will!"

Soon enough the long train approached Gordon's Hill. Edward was surprised when James rocketed through Wellsworth, determined to make it up the hill on his own.

"Do you need any help, James?" He called.

"No thank you, Edward! I can do this all on my own!" He said, and he began to go faster as he snorted up the hill.

"Don't let them stop you, James!" His driver said, "Go faster and we'll get them up before they know it!" James pulled even harder and he began to pick up speed. The trucks giggled amongst themselves.

"OK, guys! One, two, three…hold back, hold back!" They said, and sure enough with a jerk and a "CRACK!" It all came easier to James.

"I've done it! I've done it!" James chortled, "That'll show those stupid trucks!"

"Wait, James! We've left our tail behind!"

"WHAT?" James was shocked, "No wonder it was easy! What silly things trucks are! There could have been an accident." He grumbled to himself as he backed down to the bottom of the hill, where the guard had stopped the train and flagged down Edward. As the driver recoupled James to the train, the red engine chatted with Edward.

"You've been working quite hard, I could hear you all the way from the yard!" Edward remarked, "You look exhausted, are you sure you don't need my help?"

"No thank you, Edward, I'm perfectly capable of doing it myself!" James said, scowling, but Edward smiled.

"The Fat Controller is going to think you're really useful for dealing with those trucks by yourself. Good luck!" James' glare turned to a small smile.

"Thanks, Edward!" James said, but he then turned his focus back up the hill.

"But this will be hard…"

Finally the train was ready to depart once more, and James began puffing hard as he headed up the hill.

"Don't let them beat you!" Edward called, but James was doing well and showed no signs of stopping. He tried his best as he, wheel-turn by wheel-turn, climbed the hill.

"I _can_ do it! I _can_ do it!" James panted, and sure enough he could.

"I've done it! I've done it! I've done it!" James called proudly as he climbed over the hill and coasted down the other side.

James reached his final station safely, and was uncoupled from the trucks.

"That'll teach you!" He laughed as the trucks sat in the station, before rolling off to get a drink. Suddenly, he heard Edward's whistle and the blue engine rolled alongside.

"Hi, Edward," panted James, but before he could say anything else, a familiar face stepped down from his cab.

"Oh no!" James thought, "What will the Fat Controller say about my breakaway?" But to James' surprise, the Fat Controller was smiling.

"I was on Edward's train and I saw everything, James. You made the most Troublesome Trucks on the line behave, and I'm very proud of you." James was shocked, but managed to utter out a sentence through his joy.

"Th-thank you, sir!" He said happily.

"And James, I promise you, your red coat is here to stay, especially after today." The Fat Controller covered his ears and James whooped and whistled happily.

"Just try to be a bit more quiet, James. Go back to the sheds and get some rest, you deserve it."

"Thank you, sir!" James said and he began back towards the sheds.

* * *

When James returned to the sheds, Henry, Gordon, and Percy were all there. Henry and Percy were full of praise for James.

"Edward told me everything!" Henry said, "You're a really useful engine, James!"

James blushed modestly, but Percy spoke next.

"You were really impressive, James! The engines back in the workshops could never be able to do something like that!" Percy grinned, he had finally gained respect for James. However, one engine was not impressed.

"James pulled some filthy trucks, big whoop." Gordon said, "His job is nowhere near as important as my express. You're simply doing him a disservice by making the little runt think he's anywhere near my caliber."

Henry and Percy were shocked with Gordon's harsh words, but James was hurt most of all. Gordon had just squashed any pride he had gained. The red engine backed angrily into the shed.

"Coward! Bully!" Percy shouted to Gordon as he puffed away to pull his mail train. Henry simply glared and backed into the shed.

"Hmph," Gordon said, before going to sleep himself.

* * *

Autumn began to turn to winter, and with the winter came snow. It piled onto the line in heavy drifts, and as a result engines had to wear their snowploughs. However, one engine had yet to ever wear a snowplough.

"No, I don't want to wear it!" Thomas said to his driver.

"You need it! Otherwise you'll get stuck in the snow!"

"But it's ugly and uncomfortable!"

"It's necessary, Thomas!"

"No!"

"Wear it!"

"No!"

"I swear I will put another fish in your tank if you don't wear it, Thomas the Tank Engine!"

"…Fine!"

And so Thomas puffed off with his snowplough in front of him.

"Stop grumbling, Thomas!" Clarabel said, "You need that snowplough to stay safe!"

"I know, but it's just so uncomfortable!" Thomas grumbled, "It doesn't even help! I still have to push through all this snow! I don't need a snowplough!" But Thomas continued on.

One day, Thomas was rolling along with his snowplough when he stopped at Elsbridge. He suddenly saw a freight train rumble by, being pulled by Henry. He saw the trucks rattling behind Henry and screeching. This gave Thomas an idea.

"Hmm…" he said.

Later, Thomas was rattling back and forth along the line, shaking his snowplough about.

"Steady, Thomas!" His driver said, "You'll damage your plough!" But Thomas didn't care, and he continued onwards, spraying snow in all directions.

By the time Thomas reached the top station, his snowplough was looking rather damaged.

"You great silly engine! You've damaged your snowplough! We haven't time to mend it so we'll have to go without it until it's repaired!" The driver was extremely frustrated, but Thomas smiled smugly.

"I won't have to wear my snowplough anymore!" He chuckled to himself, "Why would I even need it anyway, it's not snowing."

That night, however, it _did_ snow. When Thomas awoke the following morning, the ground was blanketed with snow.

"This really isn't a very good idea, Thomas!" Annie said, but Thomas was too happy with himself to listen.

"No snowplough!" He chortled to himself, "What a laugh!"

However, as Thomas headed down his branch line, the snow began to get thicker and thicker. As Thomas tried to go faster he began to spray snow on either side. He rolled through a level crossing where a bus was waiting. As Thomas burst through the crossing, he sprayed snow all over the bus.

"Watch it!" The bus shouted, "Engines, honestly…"

"Keep calm, Bertie, it's not like your stuck in a drift."

"Yes, but being covered in snow isn't very fun either! Who does that speed demon think he is? I'm the fastest bus around here!"

Bertie the Bus and his driver then drove away over the crossing.

Thomas approached a tunnel further down the line. It was dark and he couldn't see the other side.

"Be careful, Thomas!" Annie cried.

"Yes, Thomas, be careful! We can't see what's on the other side!" Clarabel agreed.

"Pah! There's nothing for you two to be worried ab-AHHH!" Thomas screamed in horror as he saw a giant snowdrift on the line ahead. He tried to stop but it was too late!

"AH!" Thomas burst into the drift and was surrounded with freezing cold snow.

"Driver, back up! Back up!" Thomas cried.

Thomas' driver tried to reverse the little blue engine, but there was too much snow and he couldn't move. Thomas was stuck.

Thomas' driver called the guard from Clarabel.

"Go back for help, we'll try to dig Thomas out!"

The guard agreed and sprinted back to call for help, while Thomas' driver and fireman got to work with their shovels.

Over at the farm, Terence was resting in his shed when to his surprise the farmer ran up.

"What's wrong, boss?" Terence asked as the farmer started up his engine.

"There's been an accident down the line. Thomas is stuck in a snowdrift and we're the closest thing that can pull him out." Terence was excited, but he was worried for Thomas.

"I hope he's alright…" Terence said and he took to the rails and followed them down towards the tunnel.

Thomas' driver and fireman tried to dig Thomas out but it was no good. A bus had been called to take Thomas' passengers away, but Thomas himself was in no signs of leaving the snow.

"I'm sorry," whimpered Thomas, "I shouldn't have damaged by snowplough, I just want to get out of here!" He then began to cry. Suddenly however, he heard a familiar noise; PICKITEH-POCKITEH-PICKITEH-POCKITEH…

"Oh no!" Thomas cried, "It can't be!"

But it was. Terence the Tractor came rolling through the tunnel and turned around. Annie and Clarabel were surprised to see him.

"Terence?" Annie queried.

"What are you doing here?" Clarabel asked.

"Why else would I be here? To help you out!" Terence said, as a rope was attached between Terence and Clarabel. Straining hard, Terence pulled Annie and Clarabel back through the tunnel, before going back through for Thomas.

"What are you doing here? Come to gloat?" Thomas was miserable, but Terence gave a determined grin.

"No, I'm here to help out my friend." Terence said sharply.

"What are those cater-thingies going to do? I've heavier than Annie and Clarabel are, you know."

"Didn't you listen to me the first time we met? My caterpillars are adaptable." Terence said, as the rope between him and Thomas was finally secured.

"Alright Terence, pull!" And to Thomas' surprise, he did. Terence strained and growled and slipped as he pulled Thomas from the snowdrift. Thomas was shocked as he finally felt the ability to move his wheels once more. Once Thomas was completely free, he was untied from Terence and backed up to his coaches after Terence had gone through the tunnel. He saw Terence resting alongside the line.

"Terence, thank you so much for saving me." Thomas said, "I'm sorry that I've been so rude to you when all you wanted was to be my friend…your caterpillars really are useful, Terence."

Terence smiled modestly. Thomas finally saw how genuine it was.

"Your wheels aren't half bad either!" Terence laughed, "It would've been a lot more difficult to pull you from the drift without them, and you manage this line just fine!"

"Thanks, Terence." Thomas smiled, "So, we're friends?"

"Friends." The tractor grinned, "Now if I were you I'd go and get some rest; you don't want a cold!" The two friends laughed, and they went their separate ways. However, someone was watching them.

"Who does that speed demon think he is?" Bertie grumbled, "Getting stuck in the snow and needing a tractor to help him? I could go twice as fast as him…" Suddenly a sneaky idea parked in his head.

"Yes…I'll do it when the snow melts…and then we'll see who's the fastest…" And with that, Bertie drove away.

* * *

Surprised with how fast this was, huh? Well, I had a lot of time on my hands I wrote this chapter in one sitting. I like it a lot. It gives me a chance to focus on James, which we haven't done since Chapter 2. It also starts Thomas and Terence's friendship. Always liked Terence, hope he appears again. And while one road vehicle becomes an ally, another becomes a rival. See the clash of new rivals in "Chapter 9 - Road vs. Rail"!


	9. Chapter 9 - Road vs Rail

Gordon waited at the platform for his coaches. He glared at the snow out in front of him.

"Where is that Percy?" Gordon asked, "An important engine like me shouldn't have to be kept waiting!"

"Just be patient Gordon, I'm sure Percy's on his way." His driver said calmly, but Gordon was no mood for it. However, he failed to hear someone coming alongside him.

"Whoa!" Gordon was shocked as he was sprayed with snow from a passing engine. The big blue engine was not happy, especially when he heard familiar laughter.

"PERCY!" Gordon shouted, but Percy only rolled away.

"Fight back, you coward!" Percy said, and he rolled away giggling to himself.

Gordon glared at the little engine as he spat snow from his mouth.

That night, Percy was returning to the sheds after pulling the mail train.

"I'm so cold! When can we get to the shed?" Percy shivered. His driver walked up to the shed doors.

"They're locked, Percy! We'll have to sleep in the goods shed. Come on."

Percy grumbled as he rolled away. Inside the shed, Gordon was grinning.

"Hmph," he says, "that'll show that cheeky little monster." And the big blue engine went to sleep.

* * *

It took a long time for spring to come and the snow to melt. Flowers and grass began to grow again, and Thomas was glad that his branch line was nice and clear.

"I don't have to wear my snowplough anymore!" Thomas cheered.

"Until next winter, Thomas." Annie chuckled.

"Don't bang it up this time!" Clarabel laughed.

"Oh, red signal!" Thomas braked at a red signal outside a bus station. Sitting nearby was a red bus. The bus raised an eyebrow.

"Well, well, well, Thomas the Tank Engine. I've heard a lot about you." Thomas was surprised; he didn't recognize the bus.

"Do I know you?" Thomas said. The bus chuckled.

"Pardon me, my name's Bertie. I took your passengers after you got stuck in the snow, and Terence the Tractor had to pull you out!" Bertie guffawed, "But you _were_ going awfully fast…"

"I run this branch line, Bertie." Thomas said, "And yes, I was going fast! That's what you do when you run on rails."

"Not as fast as I can go on the roads," Bertie chuckled, "I'd be leaving you in the dust if we were to ever have a race."

"Really?" Thomas' eyes narrowed. The engine and bus stared off.

"Fine, let's have a friendly race then." Bertie smirked, "I'll prove that I'm faster than you could ever be."

"You're on." Thomas grinned.

"I'm not sure if the Fat Controller will approve, Thomas…" Annie sighed worriedly.

"I'm sure it'll be fine, Annie." Thomas said.

Their drivers agreed, and soon enough the two were ready. Thomas' fireman poked his head out of the cab.

"We race to Ffarquhar. Come on Thomas, you can beat him." Thomas grinned determinedly.

"Good luck, Thomas," Bertie chuckled, "you'll need it."

Thomas scowled and looked ahead. The stationmaster stood between them with some flags.

"Ready…"

Bertie revved his engine.

"Steady…."

Thomas' driver had his hand on the regulator.

"…GO!"

(SONG: Let's Have a Race)

 _A lesson that's worth learning_

 _One you never should forget_

 _Is the art of friendly rivalry_

 _It's not always about winning_

 _You must learn that from the start_

 _Enjoy yourself remember_

 _What counts is taking part_

Thomas could never go too quickly to start. He saw the bus round a corner, and began to chase after him.

 _Let's have a race, have a race, have a race_

 _Let's see who is the quickest_

 _Who can be the fastest_

 _On your marks, now get set, go!_

 _Let's set a pace, set a pace, set a pace_

 _Let's see if you can catch me_

 _Let's see if you can match me so_

 _Let's have a race, have a race_

"Go faster! Faster, Thomas!" Annie cheered. Both coaches were getting into the race now. Thomas picked up speed, and saw Bertie up ahead. He drew level with him.

"What did I tell you, I'm much faster!" Thomas grinned, but Bertie smirked right back.

"The race has barely started!" Bertie laughed, and sped up, spitting exhaust all over Thomas. The tank engine coughed, but then gained a determined expression.

"I'm not letting a bus beat me!" Thomas declared, and sped up once more.

 _Thomas challenged Bertie_

 _To a friendly race one day_

 _The driver said get ready_

 _But be careful on the way_

 _The friends lined up together_

 _Enjoying the fun_

 _The stationmaster called out_

 _Are you ready to begin_

"He's still too far ahead!" Clarabel shrieked. Bertie was out of sight, and Thomas wasn't going as fast as he could, "Hurry up, Thomas!"

"There's the level crossing up ahead," Thomas laughed, "He'll _have_ to stop for me there!"

At the level crossing, Bertie was furious.

"Stupid crossing…He _has_ to pass me!" Bertie grumbled, and he heard Thomas' whistle as the tank engine soared through the gates.

"Buh-bye, Bertie!" Thomas laughed. Bertie growled and continued onwards.

The road left the railway here, so the two couldn't see each other.

 _Let's have a race, have a race, have a race_

 _Let's see who is the quickest_

 _Who can be the fastest_

 _On your marks, now get set, go!_

 _Let's set a pace, set a pace, set a pace_

 _Let's see if you can catch me_

 _Let's see if you can match me so_

 _Let's have a race, have a race_

(song temporarily ends)

Thomas dropped his passengers off at the station, as quickly as possible, and continued on. Thomas approached a bridge and saw Bertie rolling overhead.

"Well, look who's losing!" Bertie laughed when he saw Thomas underneath, "My roads are much faster!" He chortled and sped away.

"Faster, Thomas!" Annie and Clarabel whooped and cheered, and Thomas tried to go faster. Suddenly, his driver called to him.

"You're running low on water, Thomas!" He said, "We'll have to stop at the next station!" Thomas gasped.

"But that will give Bertie a huge lead!"

"Well, we can't have you run dry!" The driver said, "And if we beat him to the station we might not have as much ground to make up!"

Thomas determinedly sped ahead.

Thomas arrived at Elsbridge, and Bertie was nowhere in sight.

"Haha! We beat him!" Thomas laughed, but a familiar honk changed his mood. Bertie was sitting smugly at the nearby bus stop.

"Sorry, can't dawdle around! We buses have to work, you know!" And Bertie guffawed away. Thomas was crushed.

"We'll never beat him now!" He sighed. The driver grinned.

"Once we refill your tank we will! There's a massive intersection up ahead! He's bound to get stuck in traffic!"

Thomas smiled, and soon enough his tank was full and he was off again.

 _Bertie bus was winning_

 _He sped along the way_

 _Thomas tried so hard_

 _To catch up on the way_

 _Eventually he passed him_

 _And Bertie had to say_

 _To pass you on that hill Thomas_

 _I'd need wings like an aeroplane_

Bertie was stuck at a traffic light, and was fuming.

"Come on, I'm going to lose my lead!" He snorted, and his fears were confirmed when Thomas came speeding past.

"Look who's winning now, Bertie!" Thomas laughed, and Bertie started off with a roar.

Bertie and Thomas were neck and neck as they approached the final stretch before Ffarquhar. Just before the station, Thomas' line passed through a tunnel, but Bertie had to go over the hill.

"Oh no!" Bertie cried, and he tried to ascend the hill as quickly as he could, but Thomas was already speeding through the tunnel. Bertie groaned, but sped on anyway.

 _Let's have a race, have a race, have a race_

 _Let's see who is the quickest_

 _Who can be the fastest_

 _Ready, set, go!_

 _Let's set a pace, set a pace, set a pace_

 _Let's see if you can catch me_

 _Let's see if you can match me so_

 _Let's have a race, have a race_

 _Let's have a race_

 _Let's have a race_

 _Right now_

Thomas was approaching the station, and was gradually coming to a stop, when he suddenly heard Bertie behind him. He tried to speed up again, but his driver wouldn't let him.

"The passengers need a smooth stop, Thomas!" He said. Thomas heard Bertie's horn again. Clarabel saw Bertie trying to catch up, but Thomas was determined to beat him. Finally, Thomas pulled into the platform, and was victorious. As soon as the doors were opened, the passengers exited the coaches and cheered for Thomas.

"Hooray for Thomas!" They all cheered, and Bertie rolled in. To Thomas' surprise, he was smiling.

"That hill at the end there, I couldn't have possibly beaten you there! I'd need wings like an aeroplane to beat you!" He laughed, "But I had a wonderful time. You're quite fast, Thomas. We should race again someday." Thomas smiled.

"Thanks, Bertie. You're very fast as well. You almost beat me!"

"Really?"

"I said 'almost', Bertie." And the two new friends laughed as the passengers celebrated for Thomas.

* * *

That evening, the Fat Controller spoke to Thomas.

"So I heard you were running about racing buses, eh?" The Fat Controller said. Thomas blushed.

"I'm sorry, sir…"

"There's nothing to be sorry for, Thomas. You won, and you put in a good name for the railway. You showed how fast and reliable we are, and I'm proud of you." The Fat Controller pat Thomas' buffer, and Thomas smiled happily.

"However, I do not recommend racing at high speeds in future. Passengers don't like being bounced about like peas in a frying pan." He chuckled, "Good evening, Thomas. You are a Really Useful Engine." And Thomas swelled with pride.

"Yes, sir. I am a really useful engine." Thomas smiled, and went to sleep.

* * *

That was fun. Let's Have a Race has always been a favorite of mine, and I'm glad I included it even though it was not in the original plans for the story. Bertie's a snarky little git in this story, isn't he? He matures over the years though, which is good. Thomas and Bertie is a great episode, and it holds a special place in my heart. Sadly, seeing as this is the end of _Tank Engine Thomas Again,_ Thomas is going to take a backseat in the next two chapters, and then appear again in the ending. Next chapter will end another character's story, and will cause quite a change in another. See the classic tale recreated, and one engine prove himself for good to another, in Chapter 10: "James and the Express"!


	10. Chapter 10 - James and the Express

Elsewhere, at Tidmouth Sheds, Gordon was being very full of himself while talking to James and Henry.

"James, Henry, I'm _telling_ you…Signals are such useless things. I needn't have a signal to tell me where to go!"

"Gordon, that's nonsense. You need signals to keep you safe and to tell you if the line is clear!" James was indignant. The Fat Controller was beginning to think well of him, but Gordon was an absolute nuisance.

"I wouldn't say you'd be qualified to talk about what's safe, Bootlaces." Gordon scoffed.

"I hate to interrupt, but Gordon's right, James. You aren't really one to talk." Henry put in meekly. James scoffed.

"And I suppose you two forgot about getting stuck up in tunnels and on hills?" James raised an eyebrow. Gordon snorted.

"You talk too much, little James."

"And what makes you better, eh?"

"A fine, strong engine like me has something to talk about."

"Like what?"

"Like the fact that _I_ pull the express. When I'm not there, they need _two_ engines! I'm the most important engine on the line! I've pulled expresses for years, and I've never lost my way! I know the right line by instinct!"

"The signalman does, not you, Gordon." Henry grumbled, but James seethed as Gordon continued his speech about how great he is.

* * *

The following morning, the engines were being stoked up. Gordon yawned and looked at James.

"It's almost time for the express. What are you doing, little James, odd jobs?" Gordon grinned, "Ah well, we all have to start somewhere. Now run along and fetch my coaches." James was almost as red as his paintwork.

"But that's Percy's job! Ask him to do it!"

"Oh, I'm sorry. You _small_ engines all look the same to me." James glared at him and ran along to the station.

When James arrived, the Stationmaster spoke to him.

"Sorry, James. Percy is busy elsewhere. You have to shunt Gordon's coaches for him."

"Oh, bother." James grumbled, "Gordon will never let me hear the end of this now!"

James shunted the express coaches into the station. They gleamed with new paint, and they chattered excitedly to each other.

"We're going away! We're going away!" They called. James chuckled.

"I wish I was going with you. Instead of that bossy Gordon…I'd love to pull the express and go gliding along the line." James sighed, and he then moved over to a siding. Gordon rolled into the station noisily.

"Good work, James! It's like you're a true tank engine!" Gordon laughed, and backed down onto the train.

The Fat Controller was at the rear of the train climbing into one of the coaches, talking to another important gentleman about business matters.

"…Top hats are in style! Everyone knows that!"

"I'm sorry, sir. But I really don't think they are!"

"Top hats are my fashion choice, my…"

The doors closed on the coaches. The guard's whistle blew and Gordon started off. With several sharp blasts of his whistle, he began to disappear into the distance.

"Goodbye, little James!" Gordon shouted, "See you later!" James scoffed, before the signalman stopped him.

"Sorry James, but you have to stay here. The Fat Controller has temporarily relocated Percy to Wellsworth with Edward to give him some rest, so you'll have to shunt coaches and trucks in the yards for a while."

"Great." James snorted, and then went off to fetch the coaches for another train.

* * *

Gordon was enjoying his run when he came across a signal.

"I needn't stop, I know exactly where I'm going!"

Of course Gordon didn't. If he had, he would have noticed that he had been diverted onto another line, outside the main…

* * *

James had just brought the coaches to the platform when he heard a low, mournful moan.

"Is that who I think it is?" James raised an eyebrow and looked back. Sure enough, Gordon was entering the station, and trying as hard as he could to not be noticed. He eventually rolled into the platform and stopped. James held in laughter.

"Is it later?" James asked innocently, before bursting out into laughter. Gordon seethed in embarrassment.

"D-did you lose you way?" James forced out in between laughs. Gordon grunted.

"No. It was lost for me. I got switched off the main line and onto the loop. I had to go around and now I'm back at the station!" Gordon furrowed his brow in embarrassment, as James continued to laugh.

"Was it _instinct_ then?" James grinned. Gordon rolled his eyes.

"Oh, the indignity…"

Meanwhile, all the passengers were gathered around The Fat Controller's office.

"We want our money back!" One shouted.

The Fat Controller climbed on a luggage trolley and blew the guard's whistle so loud that everyone stared at him.

"Thank you. Now, ladies and gentlemen, we will have a new train for you as soon as we can! Please stay calm!"

"I'm ready for anything, sir!" Gordon called, but the Fat Controller turned sternly to him.

"I shall be having a talk with you later, Gordon. I've heard some… _behavioral issues_ concerning you."

Gordon's eyes nearly popped out of his head in surprise.

The Fat Controller instead walked over to James.

"Gordon can't pull the train, so I need you to do it James. You didn't let me down with your trucks, now prove yourself with coaches." He said. James grinned, but Gordon scoffed.

"Coaches and trucks are two very different things, little James." Gordon glared, but the Fat Controller's stern look shut him down.

James backed down onto the express, and everyone climbed aboard. He was coupled to the train, and was prepared to leave.

"You can do it, James!" The driver encouraged, and James grinned; he was sure he could.

"Do your best, James!" The Fat Controller called, and James gained a determined look.

"I will, sir." And he began to pull the heavy coaches away, leaving Gordon stunned.

"Come along, come along!" He puffed, and the coaches came along, trundling behind.

* * *

James loved coasting along the line. The wind whipped in his face and the tracks were clear. He felt better than he ever had.

"This is amazing!" He cried happily, and continued onwards.

He was making excellent time, even making up for the time that Gordon had lost!

"Keep on it, James!" The fireman shouted, and James did.

Bridges and stations flashed by, and the passengers cheered and James charged over Gordon's Hill.

"That'll show that Gordon!" He chortled as he sped down the other side.

It didn't take long for him to reach Vicarstown Station. Everyone thanked James for such a splendid journey, and the Fat Controller was very impressed.

"Well done, James." He smiled, "You've proven yourself today to be a really useful engine, and a credit to my railway." James beamed the biggest he ever had on the railway.

"Thank you so much, sir!" James smiled, and the Fat Controller grinned.

"You've earned it, James. And speaking of things you've earned, how would you like to pull the express sometimes?"

"Oh, sir!" James cried happily and whistled.

* * *

That evening, the Fat Controller spoke to Gordon alone.

"Gordon, you've had a tendency to stir up trouble as of late. You lead a strike among my engines, you're rude to every engine who you believe is below you, and you seem to hold yourself in the highest regard there is."

"B-" Gordon started to talk, but the Fat Controller interrupted him with a stern glare.

"Let me be very clear, Gordon. My engines treat everyone fairly. My engines aren't rude to others. And my engines shunt. All of them. The world does not revolve around you, Gordon. You need to realize that sooner or later, or I _will_ send you away. Understood?" The look in Gordon's eyes affirmed this.

"Good night, Gordon." And with that the Fat Controller turned away, leaving Gordon to his own thoughts. The Fat Controller had left him with a lot of them.

* * *

So James proves himself and the Fat Controller lays down the law with Gordon. But how will Gordon use his new-found knowledge? Sorry for the longer wait on this one, I've been super, super busy. Next chapter's one with a huge action sequence, and seeing what story is left you can probably deduce what it is. However, there's a bit of a twist that you'll have to see to believe in _Chapter 11 - Runaway_!


	11. Chapter 11 - Runaway

A few days later, Gordon headed to the big station to pull his express. Waiting at the platform were his coaches, but there was something missing. It was quieter, and it didn't seem to be as busy.

"Where's Percy?" Gordon asked, before the guard's whistle blew. He looked around curiously as he left the station. But Percy was nowhere to be seen.

* * *

Percy was at Wellsworth, working with Edward.

"Nice to have some time off, Percy?" Edward asked. Percy scoffed.

"Edward, we both know the Fat Controller sent me here because he's upset with me for playing tricks on the big engines." Percy sighed, and bumped some trucks. They groaned in pain of being rammed into each other.

"Always look on the bright side of life, Percy." Edward spoke softly as to not hurt ruffled feelings. Percy chuckled, before looking at Edward.

"You're right, Edward. And you know what, James and Henry have done some pretty great things as of late. When I go back to Knapford, I'm going to apologize to them." Edward grinned.

"That's the spirit, Percy! Now, I need you to manage the yard for a few hours. I have to go down and fetch some trucks from the quarry. I need you to manage the yard while I'm gone!" Edward headed off towards the junction.

"Will do, Edward! You can count on me!" Percy called. Edward smiled as he headed down the line. Suddenly, he remembered something.

"Be careful on the main line, Percy! Some trucks need to be moved down onto a siding further down the line, and you'll have to use the points! Whistle to tell the signalman you are there!" But Percy wasn't paying attention. He had already gotten to work.

Percy moved some trucks down the line to where they could be put on a goods siding for later. He then returned to the yards. Percy waited in front of the points anxiously.

"Come on, come on…" Percy waited anxiously, but he had forgotten to signal, so the busy signalman didn't notice him. The signalman was looking through his desk for a pen, and he didn't see Percy. And without his whistle he couldn't hear him…

Further down the line was Gordon with the express. The big engine was going quite fast, as usual, although he seemed much more pensive. Normally, he would have rushed right through Wellsworth, but he saw something on the line ahead as the station came into view.

"Percy? Why isn't he moving?" Gordon asked. To Gordon's horror, Percy still wasn't moving. Percy was daydreaming when he suddenly heard a loud whistle.

"GET OUT OF THE WAY!" Gordon shouted with urgency. Percy's eyes bulged as he saw Gordon moving towards him at an alarmingly fast rate.

"AH!" Percy shrieked, startling his driver. However, the driver lost his balance and came tumbling out the cab. The fireman tried to catch him, but he fell out too. Just as Gordon was an inch from Percy's buffers, the little green tank engine began to reverse.

"Where am I going?" Percy gasped as he began to reverse away without his driver and fireman, with Gordon ahead watching in horror.

"HEEEEEEELP!" Percy wailed as he sped out of sight. Just as Percy had left, Edward sped into the yards.

"Gordon! Where's Percy?" Edward asked, alarmed.

"I _have_ to help him!" Gordon shouted, "Edward, take my express! He's too far ahead, I'm the only one who can catch him!"

"A-alright, Gordon." Edward was surprised by Gordon's initiative. Gordon was uncoupled from the coaches and sped along down the line to catch Percy.

"Percy, I'm coming to save you!" Gordon called, and sped along.

* * *

Percy was going faster than he ever had before. He screamed in terror as he sped along the main line. He ran straight up Gordon's Hill without stopping.

"I want to stop! I want to stop!" He cried, when he suddenly heard a familiar whistle.

"Gordon?" He cried in shock. Sure enough, speeding down the line to catch him was Gordon. The big engine looked the most determined Percy had ever seen him.

"Hold on, Percy! I'm trying to stop you!" Gordon called, and tried to pick up speed.

"Hurry, Gordon!" Percy cried.

Up ahead, there was a line that was blocked off for maintenance. To Gordon's horror, Percy was switched onto it and bashed through the danger sign. However, Gordon was switched onto another line, and he braked to a halt.

"Oh, no!" The driver braked Gordon to a halt as Percy disappeared, "We'll never catch him now!"

"Not if I can help it!" Gordon said, "Driver, switch us onto that line!"

"We're far too heavy, Gordon!" The fireman insisted.

"Percy could be in grave danger if we don't do something!"

"Oh, alright." The fireman switched the points, climbed back aboard and they began to pick up speed once more.

* * *

Further down the line, Percy was still speeding along backwards. By now he had given up trying to stop himself by force, and simply tried to will himself to stop.

"I want to stop! I want to stop!" Percy cried. Gordon came speeding down towards him.

A signalman was sitting in his box and he heard Gordon's whistle and saw Percy speeding down the line. He quickly ran to his switches and changed the points.

"Gordon!" Percy cried happily, but he suddenly felt himself swerve onto a siding.

"No!" Gordon could only shut his eyes as Percy approached the end of the line.

"I want to stop! I want to stop! I want to stop! I-have stopped?" Percy looked around and found that he had hit a large mound of earth on the end of the siding.

"I'm safe! I'm safe!" Percy sighed. Gordon opened one eye and whistled happily.

"Well done, Percy!" Gordon panted, "You started quickly and you stopped a nasty accident. But, I believe I owe you an apology, Percy. I-"

"No, Gordon." Gordon was surprised when Percy interrupted him, "I need to give you an apology. All this time I've been treating you and the other big engines like dirt, all because I was upset about being bullied by a big engine back in the workshops where I used to live. But you all are different from Clyde. You work hard, and you don't just boss me around unless I'm being cheeky, which I have been. I'm so, so sorry…" Percy began to cry. Gordon sat in pensive silence for a while. He then cleared his throat and spoke up.

"Even if Henry and James didn't have it coming to them, Percy. I certainly did." Percy looked up, "I've been an absolute nightmare since even before you've arrived, and everyone knows it. I've been pompous, I refuse to my own shunting, I complain about even a tiny amount of extra work...the list goes on. I rarely ever let anyone get attention over me, and that's because I feel the need to prove myself constantly. I consider myself to be fastest, but I'm certainly not the best. James, Edward, Thomas, and Henry have all proven that to me." Gordon took a deep breath, "The Fat Controller made me realize all this a few days ago. I'm incredibly sorry for treating you like a pile of scrap. Considering what you came here to do, it was not a healthy response, and I hope that we can become friends from this point forwards." Gordon finished, and Percy smiled warmly. Although nothing was said, there was understanding that a friendship has been formed.

Gordon fetched his tow cable and soon enough Percy was pulled free of the mound of earth. After Percy was inspected for damage, Gordon pulled him back to Tidmouth Sheds.

* * *

The two engines were greeted to a hero's welcome, much to their surprise. James, Henry, Edward, and even Thomas were all there, cheering for the two engines as they pulled into the sheds. Percy's driver and fireman were waiting there, as was the Fat Controller.

"Well done, Gordon." The Fat Controller said, beaming, "It seems as though you took what I said to heart." Gordon quietly looked away.

"It wasn't me entirely, sir. Rather, if Percy hadn't started so quickly, there might have been a head-on collision, sir. Percy is as much of a really useful engine as I am."

The Fat Controller smiled.

"Right you are, Gordon. You two proved something to me; my engines are a family; they look out for each other." The six steam engines looked at each other fondly.

"Percy, after you are repaired at the works, I want you back at work. Although I trust there is no ill will this time around?" The Fat Controller raised an eyebrow at Gordon and Percy, who smiled at each other, and then at James and Henry.

"Good night, engines." The Fat Controller turned away and left. Gordon and Percy looked at each other, before Percy spoke.

"James, Henry. I'm so sorry for playing tricks on you. You are the some of the finest engines I know. Henry, you gave up your favorite train for me! And James, you do splendidly with both trucks and coaches! Friends?" James and Henry looked at each other with pride, before speaking in unison.

"Yes." Then Gordon spoke up.

"I believe I owe you all an apology more than Percy. Since I've arrived on this island I've been treating you all like rubbish, and I'm quite sorry. Henry, you're one of the kindest engines I've ever met. James, you're welcome to take my express any time, you did wonderfully." James grinned with pride.

"Edward, thank you." Edward smiled knowingly, "And Thomas, from what I hear you run your branch line well." Thomas raised an eyebrow.

"That's all I get?" He muttered, but his driver elbowed his wheel, shushing the blue tank engine.

"Well," smiled Edward, "I believe we've all become friends again."

"Not just friends," chuckled Henry.

"A family." Percy finished.

And the six engines chattered through the night.

* * *

Gotta love those happy moments. Hard to believe that I have only the final chapter to go! I appreciate the support I've been getting from people who've been reading this, and I can't wait to finally get the final chapter up. This has been a great journey and I thank you for reading. So, next chapter, see where our six characters are as a result of these crazy events, and find out exactly why it is so in Chapter 12 - _It's Great to be an Engine!_ This one should be up super duper soon, so don't wait long!


	12. Chapter 12 - It's Great to be an Engine!

When Percy returned from the works, the other engines were very happy to see him.

"Welcome back, Percy!" Gordon called and Percy shunted his trucks into place at the platform.

"Thanks, Gordon!" Percy smiled, "It's good to be back!" And with that, he accidently let off steam all over Gordon, causing the big blue engine to splutter.

"Whoops! Sorry, Gordon!" Percy said, although he was stifling his giggles. Gordon simply raised an eyebrow before chuckling.

"It's fine, Percy. It was an accident." Gordon chuckled. He then looked to James, who was backing down onto the express.

"Have a good time out there, James!" Gordon called, and James grinned right back.

"I will, thank you, Gordon." James said, and he left the station in fine style as the guard's whistle blew. Percy whistled goodbye, and then resumed work.

"I love Sodor!" Percy chuckled to himself.

* * *

 _Oh yes, it's great_

 _To be an engine_

 _And go steaming along,_

 _Puff puff puffing along,_

 _Peep peep peeping along._

 _All the people waving_

 _As you speed along._

 _Puff puff puffing along_

 _All day._

Thomas rolled along his branch line, until he passed a field. He saw Terence, plowing it, and gave a cheerful whistle. Terence honked right back, grinned, and then continued his work.

Thomas then approached a crossing, where he saw Bertie waiting. Thomas smiled at his friend as he sped by, and Bertie gave a cheerful toot.

 _We're all so proud to be_

 _Famous engines_

 _And travel through the countryside._

 _We're always brave when_

 _There are hills to climb._

 _No mountain is too high!_

Edward waited quietly at his station, watching trains go by. As one particular train whistled past, Edward grinned and gave a long, loud whistle.

 _Oh yes it's great_

 _To be an engine_

 _As you're steaming along._

 _Puff puff puffing along,_

 _Peep peep peeping along._

 _Fly along the rails as_

 _Your wheels go round_

 _Whiz whiz whizzing around_

 _All day._

The train was the Express, pulled by James. The red engine beamed proudly as he whizzed up Gordon's Hill and down the other side, smiling all the while. As he steamed onwards, he looked around the beautiful countryside and took in his surroundings.

 _It doesn't matter_

 _Come rain or shine._

 _There are always things_

 _For us to do._

 _And in the cold cold_

 _Wintertime,_

 _We're ready._

 _When you light the fire_

 _And stoke the boiler_

 _And we'll be there for you!_

Gordon continued along with his goods train and stopped at a signal to let another train pass. Gordon sat grinning as the other train passed, and gave a friendly whistle as the coaches continued down the line.

 _Oh yes it's great_

 _To be an engine_

 _As you're steaming along._

 _Puff puff puffing along,_

 _Peep peep peeping along._

 _Feel the wind around you_

 _As you push along._

 _Puff puff puffing along_

 _All day._

The train belonged to Henry, who chuffed eagerly along the way to Elsbridge. Although he was visibly struggling, he couldn't help but smile when he heard his friend's whistle. He saw the station platform up ahead and whistled loudly.

 _Just think - how wonderful it would be._

 _To live on the magical Island of Sodor,_

 _Helping Thomas the Tank Engine and his friends_

 _All day long,_

 _It would be like a dream come true._

 _If only I could be an engine too..._

Henry pulled into the platform and dropped off passengers for Thomas, who eagerly climbed aboard Annie and Clarabel. Thomas whistled happily and continued off along his line, with his two coaches trundling happily along behind him.

 _Oh yes it's great_

 _To be an engine_

 _And go steaming along._

 _Puff puff puffing along,_

 _Peep peep peeping along._

 _All the people waving_

 _As you speed along._

 _Puff puff puffing along,_

When it was dark, Thomas, Edward, Henry, Gordon, and James all sat in Tidmouth Sheds, when Percy rolled alongside to collect his mail train. The other five smiled at him as he headed off into the night, giving a friendly whistle before steaming away.

 _Peep peep peeping and_

 _Puff puff puffing and_

 _Steam around all day!_

 **THE END**

* * *

Henry sat in the shed while the other engines were hard at work, trying to get steam up.

"It's no good," The driver sighed.

Henry looked sadly down at the ground as the Fat Controller shook his head disapprovingly nearby.

"I suffer dreadfully, and no one cares…" Henry muttered.

* * *

Well, here we are folks. The end of this story. It's been quite the adventure, if I do say so myself. This is the longest thing I've ever written and I'm overjoyed that you people who have read it have enjoyed it. This story has made me a lot more attached to the original 6, and I'm very happy it has, as my love of Thomas stemmed from them. I want to thank all of you who have, are, and will read this in future. Spread it around and try to keep it relevant, as I want many people to see this. As for what's next? Well, I'm going to be putting up some smaller traditional Thomas episodes before I try anything this big again, but I'd say that this is a pretty good start for a fanfic writer. So until next time, friends. Goodbye and thank you!

 **THE END (for real)**


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